Nothing Lasts Forever
by Darien Ravier
Summary: A civil war on Tamaran forces the Titans to be reluctant soldiers under Starfire's command, but the toll the war takes on Starfire and her friends may be too severe to repair. Epic battles and graphic fights are background for this rite of passage tale.
1. An Intrusive Brother

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 1: An Intrusive Brother

"Must be strangely exciting

To watch the stoic squirm

Must be somewhat heartening

To watch shepherd meet shepherd

But you, you're not allowed

You're uninvited

An unfortunate slight." – Alanis Morissette; Uninvited

Her room flashed red and a loud siren blared that woke Starfire up from a sound sleep. This wasn't the alarm that called her and her friends the Teen Titans into action, this was the alarm that let them know someone had broken into their home. Within seconds, Starfire sprung out of her bed as she prepared for a battle.

"The control room," Starfire thought, "That's where Robin said to go when the alarm for intruders was heard."

Starfire levitated over towards her front door and pressed the code for the door to open. Starfire flew intensely down the hall as she made her way through the maze of hallways. She quickly rounded every sharp corner, not even skipping a beat to check if anyone was in front of her. If the intruder happened to be in front of her, she would be ready to fight.

No one threatened Starfire's home and she would stand up to anyone that did.

Starfire had just begun to call Earth her home after living there almost half of her life and one thing she holds dear to herself is the place she calls home. It was the comfort of a home she liked because she never knew where her real home was. Yes, her Kanorfka, Galfor, raised her as a princess on her home planet, Tamaran, but she always wondered who her real parents were. They had abandoned her at such an early age and the only family she knew was her evil sister, Blackfire.

Yes, Starfire's home was very important to her, so important that as these thoughts raced through her head, she failed to see the figure in front of her as she rounded the corner and flew head first into the figure, knocking them both to the ground. Starfire, ignoring the pain in her shoulder from the collision, quickly rose to her feet, Starbolts in hand, ready to fire.

"Depart from our home, guest who has not been invited!" Starfire yelled at the figure.

"Starfire, it's Cyborg," said a familiar urban voice that caused Starfire's to fizzle the starbolts in her hands.

"Oh, Cyborg. Uh, I guess the bad is mine?" Cyborg had to smile at her attempt to speak Earth slang, but he quickly grabbed her wrist as he ran towards the control room, "Come on, Star, we've got to book!"

With that, Starfire flew behind Cyborg as they raced to the control room, which was only one staircase and three hallways away. "Cyborg, do you know who has entered our home," Starfire asked as they entered the control room. Cyborg stopped in his tracks as he stared in front of himself in disbelief.

"Don't know what it is," Cyborg said, answering Starfire's question, "but it left a pretty big hole in our wall." In front of Starfire and Cyborg were their other three friends who made up the rest of the Teen Titans. The green-skinned comical boy was Beast Boy, who had the ability to change into any animal that he desired. The shadowy girl in the blue cape was Raven, the girl blessed with the gift of endless mystical powers, but cursed to restrain her emotions for fear of losing control of her gift. Then there was Robin, the skilled fighter with a keen eye for detection and a drive to prove his maturity. The five friends were also staring at the rather sizeable hole in the wall that stood in front of them. They could clearly make out the seagulls that flew over the ocean that lay in front of them.

"Guess our control room has a new ocean view," Raven said in her usual monotone voice. Starfire approached Robin, who was standing in front of a monitor, typing on the keyboard.

"Robin," she asked, "who could have done such a thing?" Robin looked at the monitor and said, "Cameras couldn't capture a good picture, but look at this." The Titans watched in disbelief as the monitor shows the wall being decimated by an outside force, which entered and began flying around, looking for something. Beast Boy looked at the screen and said, "Guy's never heard of a doorbell?"

Robin, having assessed the situation in his head, spoke up. "There is only one of him and five of us, I suggest we stick together so we overtake him by strength of numbers."

Starfire chimed in, "Agreed, we would have a much better chance as a group." Starfire always agreed with Robin. His leadership and strength won her over as an ally, but is was the warmth he showed for his friends that won him a place in her heart. Starfire had always carried a torch for Robin, but she dared not act on her feelings because of her fear that it would threaten her home and place with her friends. For as much as she believed in acting on her feelings, it was her feeling of safety that outweighed her feelings of affection.

Still, she watched in admiration as Robin scanned the tower with the security system to find the intruder. Within seconds, he spotted a flying blur of light.

Robin yelled out, "There, in the gymnasium. Titans, move out!"

With that call of action, the five friends prepared for a fight as their friend Raven threw a black shield around the group and transporting them up five floors instantly.

Within seconds, the Teen Titans stood face to face with a very tall, cloaked figure, who himself prepared for a fight upon seeing the Titans. He pointed his hand and a deadly bolt flew out at the Titans, causing them to scatter. Cyborg dove to the floor, aimed his sonic cannon arm at the intruder, and fired at his chest. The blast hit the intruder, but did not even stop him from rushing at Cyborg and tossing him through a nearby wall. Cyborg tried to find his footing as he said to himself, "Guy's pretty strong."

Back in the gymnasium, Beast Boy transformed himself into a Stegosaurus and swiped at the intruder with his heavily spiked tail. The intruder dodged the swipes and eventually caught the Stegosaurus' tail and tossed him out the same wall he just tossed Cyborg out of, causing the two to crash into each other. Beast Boy lay on the ground with spirals in his eyes as Cyborg moaned, "Guy's really strong," right before he passed out.

The intruder watched to make sure the two didn't get up, but wasn't watching as a massive barbell encased in black came crashing into his back. He turned around to see Raven using her mind to pick up various weights and tossing them at the intruder. The cloaked intruder leaned side to side quickly, even levitating in the air acrobatically to dodge the oncoming weights. Raven tried not to let her frustration overtake her. Her powers were only strengthened through having her emotions controlled. One slip, one angry thought, even one profanity would cause her powers to lose control and put her friends and herself at risk. But this guy was really getting to her with his dodging everything Raven was throwing at him, now he's signaling her to throw more stuff at him.

"Insolent bastard," thought Raven as she picked up the heaviest dumbbell next to her with her mind and heaved it at the cloaked intruder, who caught the heavy weight with his hand and with blinding speed, hurled it at Raven, who tried to react quickly and put an energy shield up. The dumbbell only broke through the shield and connected with Raven as she plummeted to the ground.

Before the intruder had time to react, a metal staff collided with his back. The intruder drew back in pain, but was over it quickly as he turned around to see Robin flying towards him, extending a powerful kick towards the intruder's head. All the intruder did was raise his left arm to the side of his head and the kick was blocked, but before Robin had the time to draw his foot back, the intruder grabbed his foot and was tried to toss him towards a wall. Robin wasn't going down so easily as he flipped in midair, landing his feet on the wall, and then using it as a springboard to propel himself back at the intruder. The intruder was instantly put on the defensive as Robin unleashed a barrage of kung fu punches and kicks that were easily matched by the intruder.

Robin threw a back spinning crescent kick at the intruder's head, who ducked the violent kick, but Robin used this distraction to his advantage as he unsheathed his metal staff again and swung at the intruder, this time, connecting with his midsection, causing him to double over, gasping for air. Robin used this time to swing his staff upwards, connecting with a deadly uppercut with his staff on the intruder's chin, lifting him off of his feet and sending him soaring in the air. Robin was using this moment of helplessness to his advantage and before the intruder could come to the ground, Robin punched downward at his chest, sending him crashing through the floor. Robin looked down the hole to see where the intruder had gone to, but didn't see him coming up through the floor behind him and swinging both fists at his head, knocking Robin out cold.

The intruder looked around at his accomplishments, having taken out four of the Teen Titans all on his own was quite a feat within itself. However, where was the fifth one? As the intruder swung his head around to look, his face was hit with a powerful green blast of energy that knocked him off of his feet. Starfire flew at the hooded intruder with such rage that when she collided with him, it lifted him off of his feet and through not just the ceiling, but at least four levels of the ceiling onto the roof. The intruder landed on the cement ceiling with a hard **thud**! Starfire, floating in midair with eyes glowing solid green with no hint of pupils behind them and starbolts in her hands, ready to fire, calls out, "You will not harm my friends, flendervog!"

The hooded figure looked up at Starfire and said, "Koriannd'r, such language. Has being on Earth made you forget your royalty?" The sound of this alien word made the pupils in Starfire's eyes return. "Who are you," Starfire asked, "How did you learn of that name?" The figure removed the hood from over his head, revealing a handsome red-haired man with yellow tinted skin. He was clearly a Tamaranian like Starfire. "Koriannd'r, have you forgotten your brother, R'yannd'r, already?"

Back inside, R'yannd'r sat on the couch in front of the Titans as they stared at him condemningly. "I am sorry that I attacked you all and put a giant hole in the wall of your home. I was still under the impression that my sister was being held captive." Robin said disbelievingly, "And why would you be under that impression?" R'yannd'r explained, "You see, my sister and I were separated at a very difficult time for our planet. There had been a civil war and to make sure that our family was safe, our mother and father had sent us away so that we would be safe. They made sure that we would have everything we would need to be safe. But we were separated and I was smuggled to the swamp moons of Drenthax 9 to keep myself safe. I had heard that my sister was taken prisoner and vowed that when I had gotten older I would come to rescue her, no matter where she was. It is very relieving to see you again, Koriannd'r."

Starfire looked at her feet, "You must understand, for a very long time now, I did not know that I had a brother. This is all very hard to accept." Cyborg massaged his shoulder and said, "Well, you're definitely as strong as Starfire." R'yannd'r explained, "It was a gift from the Psions. From their experiment, the offspring of M'yannd'r and Luand'r would be able to protect themselves in their absence."

Starfire looked at her hands and suddenly, a sea of memories began to flood in her mind. Through it all, Starfire remembered her brother's embrace as they ventured into unknown territories.

"R'yannd'r," Starfire said softly, then her giddy self came out, "MY BROTHER!!!" as she flew into R'yannd'r's arms and embraced him warmly. R'yannd'r looked at Starfire and said, "Come, my sister, there is much that we need to catch up on. Is there a place where we can both converse in a more personal environment?"

Starfire thinks for a while and then says, "Oh, there is the local park. It is commonly where Earthlings go to munch on the fat." R'yannd'r looked at her sister oddly. Robin raised one eyebrow and said, "Starfire, can I see you for one second?" Starfire nodded and flew over towards Robin as he pulled her aside.

"Starfire, I don't trust this guy," Robin said as he looked back at R'yannd'r.

"Robin, it is okay," Starfire tried to say reassuringly, "I remember him."

"But Starfire, why would this guy attack us if he just wanted to see you?"

"He thought I was being held captive. There is much I need to tell you about my past, but right now I would like to see my brother to learn more."

"Star," Robin said as he put his hand on Starfire's shoulder, "Something tells me this man is dangerous, I know you think he's your brother…"

"I know he is my brother, you have to trust that Tamaranian families are very close. I would know my brother." Robin was about to say something, but he looked at Starfire, whose eyes were pleading for Robin to trust her. Robin simply took his hand off of her shoulder and let her fly over to her brother.

As the Starfire and her brother flew out of the hole in the wall, Robin stared at the two suspiciously, then turned to Raven, asking, "So, did you pick anything up?" Raven opened her eyes and said, "Can't say. I definitely feel the presence of a blood relative, but I'm also picking up something else nearby. Something more dangerous." Robin asked, "But her brother is here?" Raven nodded her head as Robin said to himself, "Then he will protect her."

Starfire and R'yannd'r walk through the park. R'yannd'r looks around in awe at the sights around him and said, "So, this is the Earth that I have heard so much about. There is so much beauty here and it is so gloriously bright."

Starfire giggled and replied, "Yes, I have grown to love it, R'yannd'r, but I desire to hear the news of Tamaran." R'yannd'r was about to talk when he started to sniff the air and asked, "What is that curious odor?" Starfire sniffed and looked around, "It is a hot dog stand."

"Oh, do the dogs require saving," R'yannd'r asked as Starfire giggled at him and said, "No, brother, they are for eating." With that, Starfire bought two hot dogs as she handed one to her brother and took a bite out of the other.

"I thought you said the dogs on earth here were friendly," R'yannd'r said, instantly looking confused, "Why would you eat such a friendly companion?"

"No, they are not exactly dogs, but they are quite tasty," Starfire said as she took another bite from the hot dog. R'yannd'r hesitantly took a bite, but he softened up to the new food once it rested in his mouth.

"So many things in this world are quite confusing," R'yannd'r said. Starfire started to look up and said, "Yes, it can be some times. As much as I have grown to love Earth, I still cannot help but feel like an outsider. I try to fit in, but so many things can just get so confusing that I actually start to long for my home on Tamaran. Please, brother, tell me the news of what is transpiring back home."

R'yannd'r replied, "Oh, Starfire, since you have left Emperor Galfor in charge, things could not be better."

Starfire smiled. She remembered that when she was offered the crown, she refused so that she could go back to Earth to live. Through her smile, Starfire said, "I knew that he would make a magnificent ruler. Oh, I would so much like to see him soon." R'yannd'r said nothing as he kept walking.

"Brother," Starfire asked, "When can I see my Kanorfka?"

R'yannd'r looked around, then at Starfire, saying, "Is there a place more private that we can talk?" Starfire led R'yannd'r into a more secluded part of the woods.

Starfire looked at her brother with a worried look in her eyes and asked, "What is the matter, why can I not see Galfor?" R'yannd'r took Starfire by the hand and explained, "Koriannd'r, though Galfor's reign is glorious, there are those who are unhappy with his ruling of the planet. Many have even gone as far as blaming you for leaving him in charge. Galfor had sent me here to warn you that if you were to return to Tamaran, there would be people there who would try to take your life."

Starfire gasped, "Then we must set things right, brother. We must return and…" R'yannd'r grabbed Starfire's wrist and said, "Sister, haven't you been listening, it is dangerous to return to Tamaran."

"I thought you said that things had never been better," Starfire said.

"They are," R'yannd'r started to stammer, "In fact, the best thing for you to do is…"

At that moment, a deadly bolt shot down from the sky right between Starfire and R'yannd'r, separating them. Starfire looked up to see another yellow skinned Tamaranian charging towards them. Starfire was about to take off when R'yannd'r flew up at the approaching aggressor and attacked him with full force.

Starbolts flew and punches were thrown as the two aliens fought in the sky. Starfire watched from the ground as her brother fought the man who attacked them both. The man landed one punch on her brother that sent him flying backwards. As he did, the aggressor flew towards Starfire. Starfire, fearing for her life, flew through the maze of tree branches in order to evade the oncoming Tamaranian. Starfire turned around and fired a starbolt at a branch above her, which she ducked under and instead came crashing down on her pursuiter, knocking the Tamaranian to the ground. Starfire turned around and was about to charge after him when R'yannd'r came out from the sky and attacked him. The Tamaranian shot the branch off of the top of him and shot R'yannd'r, sending him backwards into a tree. The two threw endless amounts of starbolts at each other.

Meanwhile, Starfire stood watching this fight, watching this man attack her brother who she had just met today. She remembered everything that came back to her and how much more she wanted to know. All the questions she had about her past that she wanted answered and if her brother died, they would never be answered. The rage built up in Starfire's eyes as the pupils once again disappeared behind a sea of green flames. Starfire then let loose a concussive blast of energy from her eyes that knocked the aggressive Tamaranian off of his feet and on his back.

Starfire stood over this new Tamaranian and said, "You will leave my brother alone." The man regained his composure and looked up at Starfire asking, "What did you say?" With a stern tone in her voice, Starfire said, "I know you have been sent here to kill my brother and myself and I will not allow you to do so."

The Tamaranian looked up at Starfire and said, "Starfire, _I_ am your brother." Starfire grew more angry, "How dare you! Do you think that you can fool me?!" The Tamaranian pleaded, "No, Koriannd'r, please, you must listen to me!" Starfire said, "How can you call yourself my brother?!" "Easy," said R'yannd'r from behind Starfire. Just then, the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against Starfire's head as the man she thought to be her brother stood behind her, holding a gun to her saying, "Because he is your brother and I was the one sent to kill you."

To Be Continued…


	2. Gift From the Psions

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 2: Gift From the Psions

"Lot of water under the bridge

Lot of other stuff, too

Don't get up gentlemen,

I'm only passing through

People are crazy and times have changed

I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range

I used to care but things have changed." – Bob Dylan, Things Have Changed

Starfire hated guns. The few memories that she has of her childhood were of being separated from her parents while being surrounded by Tamaranian guns. Now the man she thought to have been her brother was aiming one right at her head. She saw the man's finger on the trigger begin to twitch and with less than split second timing, she was able to fly out of the way of the gun barrel before it fired. Hovering in midair, she looked down on the would-be assassin as he stares in confusion at nothing.

Starfire knew she didn't have a moment to think as she fired a scalding starbolt at the man's hand, knocking the gun out of it. As the man grabbed his hand through the searing pain, she flew down and grabbed him by his collar and hoisted him up in the air. Starfire yelled at the man, "You have lied to me and betrayed me in the most disrespectful manner I can think of, you Thelnian Globrivatz! Who are you?!"

"I'm nobody, really," the assassin answered, "Just a man sent to do a job."

"For what job were you sent," Starfire asked, "And who sent you."

"Someone. And that someone wanted you dead."

The man created a starbolt with his hand and hit Starfire in the ribs with it, sending her reeling in the air from the pain and dropping him in the process. The man caught himself in mid air and began to fly when a series of starbolts came from the ground and all hitting the fleeing would-be assassin. This time, he plummeted to the ground. Starfire regained her composure to see her brother standing over the assassin, who was lying on his back. Her brother looked at him once and fired a starbolt at his head, killing him. Starfire flew towards the ground, pulling her brother away from the body. "What are you doing, brother?" Starfire asked in a state of shock over what she had just seen her brother do. "Why did you murder this man?"

"I am sorry, sister," R'yannd'r said, "but this man was dangerous and needed to be dealt with."

"But murder is no way to deal with a problem," Starfire pleaded.

"Sister, much has changed on Tamaran since you have left," R'yannd'r explained.

Starfire knew what her brother was talking about. It had been almost two years since her betrothal on Tamaran, which had been arranged by her sister, who had taken control of the Tamaranian throne and attempted to do away with her sister by marrying her away. Blackfire was able to make this possible by creating the illusion that Tamaran was being attacked by a foreign army and the only way to create peace would be to marry Starfire off. Starfire learned of this treachery and fought back against her sister in a violent battle over the crown. Starfire emerged victorious, but she chose to relinquish her crown to her Kanorfka, Galfor, who had many great plans for Tamaran.

"Brother, what has happened to our home," Starfire asked, "What has happened to Tamaran?"

"It is why I came here, sister," R'yannd'r said, "There is much trouble. Since Galfor came to the throne, he had set out to accomplish many wonderful things. He wanted to do away with poverty by sharing the nation's wealth and bring peace to warring colonies of the planet. Many were for this period of bliss, but there were still some who were unhappy with his decisions. Soon, they began to gather and protest against his rule. Then the protests became violent. Soon, they had a small army on their hands and began to recruit more and more people. Now, Tamaran stands divided among two races, those loyal to Galfor and the royal bloodline, namely ours and those…those who would have us dead."

"X'hal, no," Starfire said, "This is terrible."

"That's not the half of it," R'yannd'r went on, "For the past year, the entire planet has been at war with itself. The army has not only been killing those loyal to Galfor, but they've been hunting down anyone of the original bloodline of the Annd'r family. That means myself, you, our other sister, and our parents."

"But, R'yannd'r," Starfire interceded, "our parents have been dead for quite some time, so it is only you and I."

"No, Koriannd'r," R'yannd'r said, "Our parents have been alive as long as we have."

"But they died," Starfire said with such assurance, "I remember them perishing in the upheaval."

"We were all lead to believe that they had died so no one would seek them or us out. They live, sister, and they sent me to make sure you didn't come back to Tamaran and put yourself in danger."

Starfire remained silent as she looked up at the sky towards Tamaran. She knew the journey well and knew her way back home. Even as she looked up at the familiar path, she could sense the distress from the many light years away. She could feel that there was something wrong with her home and it pained her to think about it. After thinking for a moment, she turned to her brother and said confidently, "R'yannd'r, how can you stand here and tell me that my parents are not only alive, but living in a place that would have their blood for their own enjoyment and expect me to not want to return?" R'yannd'r let out a heavy sigh because he knew that there would be no talking his sister out of this journey.

"You're not going," Robin said. Starfire knew that is what his answer would have been, since he had always sought after his team's protection and that one member was asking to venture into certain danger. Starfire explained, "I am not asking for permission, I am telling you where I am going."

"And I said you're not going," Robin said, "Starfire, like it or not, you're part of this team and if one of us goes somewhere dangerous, we're all going."

"Robin, this is not your fight, this is mine," Starfire said.

"I agree," Raven seconded from the background, "What is happening on another planet is no concern of ours. If they come here, then we shall deal with them. But if this is between her people, then it should only involve her people."

"I'm with her," said Beast Boy, much to everyone's surprise. The Titans, even R'yannd'r turned his head at this statement. Beast Boy walked over, stood next to Starfire, looked at everyone assuredly and said, "I mean, yeah, this is junk that's happening on Tamaran and not Earth, but still, Starfire's our friend and we should stand by our friends, right?"

Cyborg raised one eyebrow at Beast Boy and remarked, "Hate to say it but the little green barrel of monkeys has a point. So does Robin. Starfire's our friend and what happens to our friend happens to us." Cyborg walks over to Starfire, saying, "I'm with you, too, Star." Robin walked over and put his hand on Starfire's shoulder. "What made you think you'd go anywhere without me backing you up?" Starfire smiled at this gesture that her friends have made for her. The four Titans looked back at Raven, who, to no one's surprise, was emotionless as she chimed in, "It's still a war, a pointless fight over frayed ideals, hardly worth mine or anyone else's time." She thought for a moment, then blew a strand of her hair back onto her head as she said, "Fine, I'll go." Starfire reached out and hugged Raven, exclaiming, "Oh, thank you, friend Raven. I will forever be in your debt!"

"You can pay me back by never hugging me again," Raven said through a squished face.

As the T-ship glided through the Centarui galaxy, Starfire looked out of the window with a troubled mind. So many questions were running through her mind about herself, her home, her parents, even the assassin that tried to kill her. Lucky for her, the man who could answer many of these questions happened to float into Starfire's chamber.

"Something is troubling you, sister?" R'yannd'r asked.

"That man who wanted me dead," Starfire asked, "who was he?"

"An experiment. And not a well made one at that," R'yannd'r explained puzzlingly.

"An experiment," Starfire wondered, "what kind of experiment was he?"

"Why, one of us, sister. A child of Psion."

"Who is the Psion?"

"The Psions, actually. They're a group scientists who had given us our powers."

"But I thought that all Tamaranians had this kind of strength on Earth, much like how Superman gets his powers from the Earth's yellow sun."

"That is true, but you also have those powers on Tamaran while others are merely average the way that humans are on Earth."

"I still do not understand," Starfire said with a look of despair on her face. "Please, tell me as much as you can so that I may better understand what has happened to my beloved Tamaran."

"Okay, do you remember when we were separated from our parents," R'yannd'r asked, hoping this would trigger something in Starfire's memory.

Starfire closed her eyes and vividly remembered the only memory she could recall.

"Yes, I remember many guns between my mother and myself," Starfire said with a tear forming in her eye.

"Those guns were royal guards, making sure that no one saw you being taken from your parents. This all started back during the great rebellion of the southern states."

"Yes," Starfire said, snapping to attention, "Galfor had spoke to me about that."

"Well, the southern states wished to rise up against your parents," R'yannd'r explained, "Your parents knew that we would be targets for the uprising army, so they sought out a group of scientists that would ensure that their children would never be defenseless against any army that would try to attack them. They had experimented with other Tamaranians before, most were unsuccessful, but they had mastered three abilities: flight, incredible strength and the ability to harness light and turn it into a deadly weapon."

"My starbolts," Starfire said, looking at her hands.

"Yes, but the Psions knew that any trace of experimentation would key off outsiders to your enhancements, so they planned everything around the Tamaranian lifecycle. That's why you had to go through transformation before you could earn your laser eyes. Your flight was given to you at a young age, so was your strength."

"Galfor had always told me that all infants could fly and that my feelings of boundless confidence and righteous fury would trigger my abilities," Starfire said, trying to find an explanation for something she thought was so ordinary for her people.

"Galfor was a trusted advisor for your parents," R'yannd'r clarified, "They knew he would protect you at all costs, but the one thing they asked of him was that you be raised like a normal Tamaranian."

"This is all too much," Starfire thought, "I always thought I was abnormal on Earth, now I find out that I am different on my own planet."

"Surely, you do remember some now, right," R'yannd'r said.

Starfire thought back on her one memory, then it all came to her. Being held in her father's arms as her brother and sister were led down a long spiral staircase. She remembered voices, but she was too young to know what they were saying, so she could only remember their tone. There was a frantic urgency in it that made her uneasy, but then her mom broke into tears and hugged her intensely. She began to cry as she remembered crying herself at a young age as she was pulled from her mother's arms and led down a long hallway. She remembered looking back and crying, "Mama! Mama," but her mother was only crying in her father's arms.

The next part was a blur as she was rushed into a vehicle that rocketed through underground tunnels. The next memory she could then recall was being on a cold table as green liquid bubbled all around her in various flasks. Strange men in leathery coats stood in front of her, trying to sound sympathetic as they approached her with prodding instruments that would inject the various bubbling serum into her. She cried again, "Mama! Papa!" as the painfully hot liquid entered her young body. Starfire stopped remembering that one, for as she did, all of the pain came back to her and she didn't want to relive it again.

She then remembers being in a throne room as Galfor was talking to a very princely figure. Behind Starfire was a crushed statue. Yes, she remembered she thought it was a giant doll and tried to play with it. She lifted it up from its marble column and had swung it around like it was one of her dolls. But then the princely figure (her teacher, yes, it was her teacher and she was at school!) startled her and she dropped the statue. She knew she was in trouble when Galfor was called in, but she didn't think it would lead to what happened in her next memory. Starfire was sitting in a rocket ship, looking back at Galfor with tears in her eyes, begging not to be left again.

She then remembered Galfor's words to her, "Koriannd'r, no one ever really leaves you. They are always with you as long as you remember what you want to remember about them. Hold onto only the memories you want to because they will make you who you want to become." Starfire instantly stopped crying, flew up and gave Galfor the biggest hug she could ever give a person.

Starfire opened her eyes and realized that it was with those words that Galfor had helped her to ignore the pain in her past and remember only what she wanted to, which is what she was able to stay so happy all of the time. Just then, Cyborg announced over the intercom, "Yo, Tamaran's coming up in five minutes. So get your butts in their seats so we can land, get this over with and go home in time for some waffles!" Starfire smiled, took a deep breath, looked back at her brother and said, "Come, brother, I am ready to go home now."

"Oh, X'hal, what has happened," Starfire gasped in horror as the T-ship glided over the forest terrain of Tamaran, which has been either leveled or reduced to cinders. Below, she saw villages burned to the ground while their families wander through the rubble, looking for other family members. It broke Starfire's heart to see that much of the beautiful Tamaran she remembered had become a demilitarized zone. She then caught sight of something that made her scream through her earpiece, "Land this ship immediately!" Cyborg, having pulled the earpiece away from his ear, looked below for a landing space and saw an army surrounding a small tribe. Instead of landing, Cyborg took an offensive position with the ship and asked R'yannd'r, "Which ones are our enemies?"

R'yannd'r responded, "The army with more soldiers."

That was all Cyborg needed to hear as he swooped down and fired on the opposing army. Once the army saw this ship attack them, they scattered to find some hiding places. Robin got over the intercom, saying, "Titans, on my mark, Raven and Beast Boy, take the opposing flanks, Cyborg, you take out their stronger weapons, Starfire, you…"

Starfire had already left the ship and was tearing the giant guns apart with her bare hands, tying the barrels in knots and breaking them over her knees. The army tried to fire at her, but she turned to face each of the soldiers with such speed that they couldn't even aim properly. Within seconds, Starfire unleashed a hail of starbolts at each of their weapons, melting them in their hands. The army stood petrified as they looked up at this new opposing foe, who was hovering in midair before them with green bolts of fire in her hands and eyes glowing green. "Surrender now, villains of Tamaran," Starfire yelled, to which the army only responded by turning and running into the woods. Starfire was about to fly after them when R'yannd'r called out, "Starfire, let them go. Someone here wants to talk to you." Starfire turned around to look at who had called her. Instantly, her eyes widened with joy as she flew like a lightning bolt across the sky into the arms of her Kanorfka, Galfor.

"Oh, Galfor, I am overjoyed to see that you are not injured!"

"Precious, Koriannd'r, it is good to see you too," Galfor said, sharing the sentiment with Starfire as they hugged.

"You should not have come, Koriannd'r," Galfor began to say, when R'yannd'r cut him off by saying, "I tried to warn her, but she learned the truth."

"About her past?" Galfor asked. R'yannd'r nodded his head. Galfor let out a heavy sigh. "Starfire, now your enemies know you are here and know of your powers. There is a great force driving this rebellion. Something that none of our powers could control. I'm afraid that force will now come after you."

"I do not care," Starfire said earnestly, "I just want to be with my family again."

Galfor then said, "Then perhaps it is finally time that you return to your parents, Starfire."

To Be Continued…


	3. Bittersweet Homecoming

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 3: Bittersweet Homecoming

"Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide,

Voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time.

The night is my companion, solitude my guide,

Would I spend forever here and not be satisfied." – Sarah McLaughlin; Possession

"Dude, she wouldn't stand a chance," Beast Boy said as the T-ship flew across the war torn Tamaran on their way to meet Starfire's parents. Cyborg was in the pilot's seat, following Galfor and his army, who were flying in a stealth ship in front of the Teen Titans' ship. Cyborg was concentrating so he could keep a safe distance behind the Tamaranian ship, but his attention was now focused on his argument with Beast Boy as he quickly shot back, "And I'm telling you she would."

"You're trying to tell me that Wonder Woman would take the Green Lantern," Beast Boy said argumentatively.

"Definitely," Cyborg replied assuredly.

"No way," Beast Boy argued, "I mean, the dude can make anything with that ring."

"But he can't fight against yellow," Cyborg said, "And she's practically made out of yellow. Yellow wristcuffs, yellow tiara, yellow on her uniform, the girl even has a yellow lasso."

"Dude, no way. It's golden, it's not the same thing as yellow," Beast Boy said.

"Even if they were gold," Cyborg said, "She's an Amazon warrior. She's trained to fight against those kind of things."

"Raven," Beast Boy spoke over the headpiece, "Tell Cyborg that he's out of his mind."

"Don't even get me involved with your little boyish games," Raven said nonchalantly, as she always did whenever Cyborg and Beast Boy would argue over their fantasy superhero fight games. "It's bad enough having to hear them argue over a fight in the middle of a war," Raven thought to herself. She didn't want to say that comment out loud because her friend, Starfire, was experiencing the war first hand. It was her planet being torn apart from the inside. And though Raven didn't agree with participating in a war that she wasn't involved in, Raven didn't want to offend her friend. Still, the suffering that the many Tamarans were experiencing was too hard for her to deny as their ship as it rocketed over the smoldering houses towards Galfor's citadel, which used to be a symbol of power for Tamaran, but now stood as a refugee camp for Galfor and his supporters.

All around them, other small spacecraft were taking off towards the stars, abandoning their homes and taking to the stars. "They would rather live as nomads than on their own planet," Raven thought to herself. She could no longer deny the change that Starfire's planet had undergone in the short time since they had left their planet as she looked at Starfire to see how she was handling the situation. Starfire had her eyes closed and her head was hanging down towards her feet. Though she said nothing, Raven could sense her pain, but something else began to trouble Raven as she put her hands to her temple out of pain. She blinked it away and concentrated on Starfire.

"You okay, Star," Robin sympathetically said over the intercom. Starfire's eyes shot open as she looked forward.

"Yes, I am most okay, I…" Starfire's voice trailed off as her eyes opened to see her planet once again. Below her, she saw an entire village on fire with the survivors pulling their family members' bodies from the wreckage. Just a few miles further, she saw a large number of bodies that lay on a battlefield from a war that couldn't have been any more than a few hours old. The usual joy in her eyes quickly disappeared as she let her true feelings out, "Oh, Robin, I can not help but think that after I had defeated my sister for the crown, I should have stayed as the empress."

Robin said, "Starfire, you did what you thought was right. There was no way you could have seen this coming."

"I should have at least done something other than run away," Starfire said.

"Hey, team," Cyborg called out, "we're here."

The Titans all looked ahead of them as Galfor's stealth ship flew into an underground hanger that opened up from the ground on the side of the citadel's wall. As they looked up from the hanger at the citadel, they no longer saw the same majesty as when they first approached it. It was now cracked from numerous attacks, the paint was peeling from being unkempt, and many sections were broken off. Still, the Titans followed Galfor's ship down the tunnel in the ground. Outside in the surrounding treeline, several torches were being lit.

The tunnel of the hanger was a steep decent downwards, which seemed to last forever until they finally saw the ground, which Cyborg angled the T-Ship so it could land smoothly on the surface. In front of them, Galfor and his subjects were already off of their ship and waiting the Titans' arrival. As the Titans walked off of the ship, they looked around in marvel at the other numerous ships that were in the hanger. Beast Boy remarked, "Planning an air show?" Galfor looked at the ships and remarked, "They are Tamaranian attack ships. If situations arose that were truly grave, then we would dispatch these ships against our enemies, who are unaware of their presence."

Starfire walked off the platform and towards Galfor, saying, "Please, Kanorfka Galfor, I wish to see my parents now." Galfor looked around to make sure the area was secure, then at R'yannd'r, who nodded at Galfor, then turned to Starfire, saying, "We will be together shortly, sister. Maybe together our family can work something out for Tamaran." Meanwhile, Galfor was instructing the warriors around him to disperse. Once the warriors had left, Galfor gave the hanger another look around before approaching Starfire and saying, "You may follow me, but your friends must stay behind." Starfire turned to the other Titans when Robin said, "It's okay, Starfire. We'll keep watch over the citadel." As the Titans turned around to walk upstairs, Galfor led Starfire towards the nearest wall, explaining, "Starfire, your parents never really left the citadel when they fled. They always wanted to stay as close as they could to their daughter." With that, Galfor pulled a section of the pipe towards him, revealing a hidden stairwell inside the ground. Starfire followed Galfor down the dark stairwell.

As Starfire and Galfor walked down the winding stairwell, Galfor explained, "Though they knew they had to abandon their children for their own safety and themselves flee, they still wanted to remain as close to you as they could. So they chose the only haven that they knew of where no one would find them and they could also be close to their beloved daughter and brother."

When they reached the bottom of the seemingly neverending winding stairwell, Galfor walked towards the wall, pulled a section of the wall away to reveal a lever, which he pulled that opened a door behind Starfire. She turned around and walked inside the dark room. Within seconds, two spears came at her head, which she quickly ducked under, rolled under the spears into the room, then turned towards her attackers, who turned out to be two towering armored warriors, who lunged at Starfire. She noticed the one on the left bringing his spear down at her, so she grabbed the weapon and threw him across the room. The other waited until her back was turned before he struck Starfire in her back. She cried out in pain momentarily before swinging around and blasting the warrior with a power blast from her laser eyes. The warrior flew across the ground. Starfire flew over to him, grabbed him by the collar and yelled, "Why are you here?! Where are my mother and father?!"

"Koriannd'r," called out a voice from the shadows as Starfire turned her head to see an older and very regally dressed couple. Starfire stood up and said, "Mother? Father?"

"Yes, Koriannd'r," the woman spoke, "It is good to finally see you again."

She put the abandonment aside her, she put the tragedy of her planet behind her, and she aside the fact that she had few memories of these people claiming to be her parents and flew over to the couple and embraced them warmly. She wept as she hugged her parents, saying, "I have waited for this moment for so long."

Starfire's father, Myand'r, held her tighter to him and said, "So have we, my sweet daughter."

"It is good to have you back with us again, Koriannd'r," asked her mother, Luand'r, between sobs.

"We are sorry that we had to abandon you," Myand'r explained, "but we had to do it for your own safety.

Starfire stepped back from the warm embrace that she had longed for her whole life since she could remember and looked her parents in the eyes and said, "I know why it was that you had to abandon me." However, just remembering that day causes tears to rise in Starfire's eyes as she turned away from her parents so they wouldn't see her if she cried.

"Koriannd'r," Myand'r said walking closer to her, "it is a decision that has haunted us since that day. Giving away our children to insure their safety was the most difficult decision that your mother and I ever had to make."

"I understand," Starfire said, but she still couldn't put into words that no matter how much she understood, their absence in her life was still very painful.

"Yet, you are still angry," Myand'r said, still able to read his daughter.

Starfire turned her head, ashamed that she was feeling angry with her parents. "I wish I had a chance to know you," Starfire said, "to have you with me when I needed you. During my transformation, even when Blackfire took over Tamaran."

"Koriannd'r, as much as we wanted to protect and comfort you through all of your troubled times," Myand'r tried to explain, "If we were to show ourselves, our enemies would have murdered us and you."

"We did not want to take that risk, daughter," Luand'r chimed in.

"But, father, you are the true leader of Tamaran," Starfire interceded, "You are bound to have enemies no matter what you do."

"Koriannd'r, the times in which we chose to go into hiding were tumultuous at best." Luand'r replied, "Conspirators rose all around us and the best way for us to insure our family's safety and the safety of Tamaran was to disappear before the assassination attempt could have been carried out."

"What attempt," Starfire asked.

"All we had was a warning by our intelligence that our family was to be attacked," Myand'r explained, "but they couldn't tell us when or where or even who was going to be responsible for it."

"So we thought the best way for us to keep our family safe was to step down from the throne and put our children into hiding," Luand'r continued.

"And I am safe," Starfire said, "but now Tamaran is not. They need their true king to fight for them. Not to hide."

Starfire realized that what she said was out of line by watching their parents step back. Myand'r looked down and said, "I figured the threat was to be from outside the planet, not from within. What help could I offer now? I would not be of any use."

"How do you know father," Starfire asked, "how do you know that Tamaran could not use your help? I thought that you were a powerful leader, but now I find out that you just passed your children off as easily as you did your planet?"

Everything was out now: the hurt, the abandonment, and the anger. Starfire wished she could have taken it back as she broke down crying on the floor. Myand'r still walked over and placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"I did not know what the future had in store for Tamaran," Myand'r said, "just as I did not know that the future had in store for you, but I knew that great things would happen for you, my dear Koriannd'r. And they did, you became a hero on another world, you defeated a tyrant that threatened your home, and you have grown up to become a powerful woman. I do regret that I was not there for these things instead of being isolated in this room, with my wife being the only thing I loved that I was able to keep with me. If things were different, I would have spent every moment I could with you. I still love you, daughter."

Starfire turned around to look into her father's eyes, which were filled with more love than she had ever seen. She then saw her mother walking up to her father's side, saying, "We are so proud to see the woman that you've become." Starfire's eyes filled with tears as she regretted the horrible things she has said out of her own pain.

"Forgive me," Starfire said, breaking down in her parents' arms, which embraced her.

"For what," Luand'r asked, confused.

"I have said such unkind things to you both," Starfire said, "I should not have been so rude. I ruined what should have been a joyous moment for us. Please forgive me."

"Of course we forgive you," Myand'r said.

"You are our daughter," Luand'r said, "and we love you so very much."

Starfire just sat there, embracing her parents in a moment that seemed to last forever.

"But you are right about one thing, daughter," Myand'r said with more determination than Starfire heard in him, "Tamaran does need its true king right now."

Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven were all standing on the balcony of the citadel, looking out over the terrain of Tamaran. Cyborg and Beast Boy were still arguing.

"Okay, maybe if she didn't have her lasso and bracelets," Cyborg conceded, "The Green Lantern might…MIGHT take her, but she is still pretty darn powerful."

Beast Boy shook his head, "No way, I remember hearing about this one story, where the Lantern went back to the planet of the other Green Lanterns an defeated all of them and took all their powers into his ring, so now he's got this super advanced ring that nothing can defeat it."

"You're just partial to him because he's green," Cyborg said.

"Hey, so what if he is," Beast Boy said, "It's cool to hear about a tough green superhero that isn't a turtle."

"Of course, this conversation would be completely different if we included Superman."

"Hey, he's easily the most powerful member of the Justice League. Anyone that comes back from the dead, I am not messing with."

Robin simply laughed at this argument because he knew first hand who the strongest Justice League member was. In fact, he was trained by him. Since he found the whole argument pointless, he walked over to Raven, who was intensely looking in the tree line before grabbing at her temple again. Robin rushed to her side.

"Are you okay," Robin asked.

"Yes," Raven said, "I'm okay, but there's something out there in the treeline."

"What do you see, Raven," Robin asked.

"I don't see anything," Raven replied, "But I can feel them. They're about to attack."

Robin turned to R'yannd'r and said, "R'yannd'r, there's an army ready too…"

W-h-o-o-s-s-h-h-h!!

A laser cannon shot right past Robin's head and impacted on the wall of the citadel, punching a giant hole in it. Robin and R'yannd'r flew over the balcony. Both hung on with one hand as they looked back at the source of the blast. Emerging from the woods came two hundred laser cannons, all lined up in a row that seemed to surround the citadel. Robin looked over at R'yannd'r, who let go of his grip and flew down towards the lower balcony. Robin fired his grappling hook into the wall and pulled himself up. The other Titans rushed to his aid.

"Robin," Cyborg called out, "you allright?"

Robin looked back down at the approaching army, which has now doubled into fifty men lining up behind each cannon. Robin squinted his eyes, "Fine, but we can't let them into the citadel. Titans, Go!"

With that, the Teen Titans leapt off the balcony and towards the enemy that lay a hundred feet below them. The army saw the approaching heroes and began to fire their laser cannons at them. Raven used her powers to form a gliding shield underneath each team member's feet, deflecting each laser blast as they floated down towards their enemy. From behind them, a small army came charging out of the citadel to the aid of the Titans. The uprising army was taking aim at the charging army. Raven turned her head towards Robin, who simply said, "Stay on course." The uprising army was ready to fire when R'yannd'r yelled from the balcony, "Folly aim!! Fire!!" Then from the remaining balconies of the citadel, a massive army of gunmen arose and fired on the uprising army below, preventing them from firing on the approaching army, which met them head on and they began to battle.

Starfire heard the explosions from the bottom of the stairwell and flew towards the stairs, but stopped and looked back at her parents. The two guards stood in front of the doorway and turned towards the king and queen. Myand'r suited up, saying, "It is time the true ruler of Tamaran took back his kingdom." Myand'r and Luand'r ran up the stairs with their guards in front of them, Galfor and Starfire ran behind them. The path was much shorter this time around as the rush to return upstairs was much more urgent, since the number of explosions grew larger.

The battle outside was fierce. Though the Tamaranian army was fighting boldly, the uprising army had too great of numbers and was able to keep firing repeatedly at the citadel. The balconies with the follies were being knocked out one by one. When one Tamaranian soldier fought an uprising soldier, two more would attack him and three would sneak past him towards the citadel. One man stood in front of the army and yelled, "Those not fighting follow me!" Another soldier turned and yelled, "Follow Tharras to the citadel!" Many soldiers followed Tharras towards the citadel while the other soldiers fought off the Tamaranian army to keep them distracted. Meanwhile, the Titans did all they could to even the score.

Raven flew through the battlefield, disarming as many soldiers as she could by removing their guns and crushing them like paper wads, when one soldier fired at her, hitting her in the shoulder. She dropped to the ground and looked up to see one of the soldiers aiming right for her head. Her eyes glowed white as she waved her hand in front of her quickly, creating a shield barrier, which deflected the shot. She then used the barrier to engulf the soldier and toss him back into the woods. From behind her, two more soldiers tried to attack her with their swords. Raven waved her hands to create the shield as she deflected each attack. She then caught both swords with her hands, encased them in black and folded them like twist ties. The soldiers looked at their swords in disbelief, then at Raven as she looked at them, preparing her attack when a green stegosaurus came charging into the soldiers, lifting them high into the air.

Beast Boy was plowing the battlefield in his stegosaurus form, but all the attention drawn to him made him a quick target as a small battle line was formed to fire at the rampaging beast. When the battle line fired, Beast Boy quickly changed into a hummingbird so he could dodge each shot quickly. Once every shot missed, he turned into a bear, which he then began to swipe and attack each Uprising soldier. A blue sonic blast shot by Beast Boy and hit a soldier attacking him from behind. Beast Boy morphed back into his normal self and looked at Cyborg, who was aiming his arm cannon at anything that shot at him or Beast Boy. Cyborg yelled, "B.B., forget these guys, they're just a distraction! Look!" Cyborg pointed at the citadel, which was being charged by hundreds of the uprising soldiers. Beast Boy's widened as he yelled, "Robin! They're storming the citadel!" Robin turned to see the soldiers entering the citadel. Robin yelled, "Titans! Move in to protect the citadel!" From across the field, R'yannd'r heard this call and in turn, yelled out, "Tamaranians! To the citadel!" The Tamaranian army followed the Titans as they rushed back to the citadel.

Starfire entered the hanger through the secret passage with her parents, Galfor and the two guards. A battalion of Tamaranian soldiers was rushing by when one stopped and recognized who had entered their hanger.

"King Myand'r," the soldier said, which caused all of the soldiers to stop in their tracks and bow before the emperor. Myand'r took a moment to remember what it was like to be the ruler again before he said, "Loyal soldiers of Tamaran, there will be enough time for catching up later. Now, we must protect this citadel. What is the situation?" One soldier stood up and said, "Sir, we have a massive army outside that is attacking the citadel with laser cannons. Their numbers are large, but we believe they are only to distract our army from the other uprising army that has been spotted inside the citadel." Myand'r nodded and said, "Galfor, lead one group into the attack ships and have them flank the outside army." Starfire, you lead the remaining soldiers to protect the throne room." Starfire nodded and asked, "Where will you and mother go?"

"We shall ascend to the tower to sound the beacon to call for reinforcements," Myand'r said, "Go now, we have not the time to waste."

Galfor took a group of soldiers into the attack ships and led them through the tunnel leading to the battlefield. Meanwhile, Starfire led the remaining army towards a flight of stairs, leading upwards. She turned back to see her parents entering a shielded elevator and rise up out of the room. "X'hal be with you, family," Starfire said softly to herself as she raced up the stairs.

Starfire rounded the corner with the other soldiers into the throne room. Once inside, they looked around for any members of the uprising's army. Starfire turned to the soldiers and said, "We shall set up a perimeter around these doors so that…AAA!!" A laser bolt hit Starfire in the back, knocking her onto her back. The other soldiers turned around to face the attacker, but found no one. Instead, a flurry of laser bolts came out of nowhere and hit each and every soldier, killing them. Starfire got back up to her feet to hear a voice saying, "Do you remember this room, dear Starfire." Starfire looked up as she instantly recognized the voice. She formed a star bolt with her hands as a hand came out of nowhere and knocked her hand sideways. A series of fists connected with her face. Each hit was so strong and unexpected that Starfire fell to the ground. Starfire tried to raise her hand to get one star bolt up again as a final attempt at a defense. Then a boot came down on her hand. Starfire groggily looked up to see a familiar face. "The last time we met here, you defeated and banished me from Tamaran, little sister."

Starfire was able to gasp, "Blackfire."

Blackfire smiled sinisterly at her sister in her defeated state, "So glad you remember me. And thank you for helping me find out that our parents are still on Tamaran. Their death will be an added bonus as I destroy this planet with them."

Starfire heard this and stood up to face her sister, but her head was spinning so much, she couldn't find her. Just then, another fist connected with her face that almost felt like her head was going to be taken off. Starfire tried to stand her ground against her sister, but she was moving too fast and her punches were stronger than usual. Starfire collapsed to the ground on her hands and knees trying to catch her breath.

"You won't be able to defeat me now, sister dear," Blackfire said as Starfire heard her tear a pillar from its base.

"How is she able to do that," Starfire thought to herself, "and how is she able to hit with so much strength?" Starfire tried to turn her head to face her sister, but she swung the pillar, which connected with Starfire's chin, knocking her clear across the throne room.

"This is going to be a glorious day, I'll destroy you, my parents and Tamaran all in the same moment."

Starfire struggled to stand up, but it became too much for her and she collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

To be continued…


	4. Evacuation

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 4: Evacuation

"There is freedom within, there is freedom without

Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup.

There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost

But you'll never see the end of the road

While you're traveling with me." – Crowded House, Don't Dream it's Over

The Tamaranian citadel was a normally breathtakingly regal place where the lobby was vast and the decorations were awe-inspiring. Now the decorations were in shambles and Robin, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy were surrounded by an amazing number of soldiers that were leading an uprising against Tamaran and it's royal family, which included their friend Starfire. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Titans fought the army so that Starfire, their partner and friend, would be safe.

Robin fought each of the soldiers off with a deadly combination of martial arts and an extensive arsenal of weapons at his disposal in his utility belt. One soldier would stand up to him and Robin would take him down in hand-to-hand combat, but two or three other soldiers would approach from behind. Robin turned in enough time to toss a strobe light bomb that blinded all the soldiers in his radius. Taking this opportunity to get away, Robin then fired a grappling hook at the ceiling that pulled him above the battle. Robin looked around to get an assessment of the situation. He saw all of his teammates fighting off at least ten other members of the uprising's army, along with the rest of the Tamaranian army, who were equally overwhelmed. Robin didn't want to admit it to himself, but this fight was turning hopeless fast.

As he began to swing down, he heard a soldier screaming from across the hallway.

"Robin!" the voice said, which made Robin's head turn to see R'yannd'r being led away by a swarm of uprising soldiers. To the side, Robin also saw hundreds of soldiers entering every entrance of the palace hallway. Robin had to act fast, keep fighting the soldiers or save his friend.

Robin yelled at the top of his lungs, "Titans, follow me!"

Cyborg was fighting off a large number of soldiers with just his strength alone, when he noticed that a group of them were aiming a massive gun at him.

"You want to play with guns," Cyborg said, "Try this one on for size." With that, Cyborg's arm transformed back into the mighty sonic cannon and blasted the Uprising's gun into pieces. Cyborg smiled at his triumph, but one soldier batted his arm cannon away with such a tremendous force that Cyborg grabbed his arm out of pain. He turned around and was standing face to face with a soldier dressed in special Tamaranian war markings.

"Well, look who got all dressed up for battle," Cyborg said as he swung his fist at the soldier, but the soldier didn't even budge from the force of the blow. Cyborg looked at him, surprised, but didn't catch the mean right hook that knocked Cyborg into a hoard of Uprising soldiers. Soon, everyone formed a circle for the soldier and Cyborg to fight. Cyborg would throw punches that the soldier would block, then counter with more powerful blows that nearly knocked Cyborg's head off. After a few well-placed punches, Cyborg was down on the ground. Two other soldiers with similar markings on their uniforms soon joined the soldier. They swarmed on top of Cyborg, holding him down. Normally, Cyborg would have just thrown them off, but this time, he was having more trouble trying to strong-arm his way out of the bind he was in.

"They're Tamaranian guys," Cyborg thought, "Grown-up dude equivalents of Starfire. Must be why I'm having such a hard time shakin' them off." He looked up to see Robin swinging over his head.

"Little help, here," Cyborg yelled.

Robin let go of the grappling hook and landed a perfect flying crescent kick on two soldiers, knocking them off Cyborg. Cyborg then flung the other two off as he and Robin turned to see themselves surrounded by the army of the uprising, ready to attack. Robin and Cyborg took their fighting stances, ready to face the inevitable when a pillar swung down and cleared a path. Robin and Cyborg turned to see Raven flying towards them on a mystic platform she created and was using like a surfboard.

"Yee-hah! Come on, boys, climb aboard," Raven yelled in an overconfident manner completely unlike herself. Robin and Cyborg looked at each other in disbelief as to what they were seeing, but still got on board the skiff nonetheless. As they climbed up and looked at Raven, they could have both sworn that her cape had turned green.

Below them, a green Anklosaurus was swiping at the soldiers with his plated tail. The soldiers tried to attack the creature, but his protective armor was too strong. One soldier jumped on his back and within seconds, the Anklosaurus had turned into a bull and began to buck the soldiers off of his back, knocking him into the other soldiers.

Beast Boy then transformed back into himself and was taking a fighting stance, yelling, "Yeah, who wants some, come on!" Beast Boy turned to see a Tamaranian soldier being overwhelmed by five Uprising soldiers. Beast Boy ran towards the soldier in peril, leapt into the air and transformed into a Minotaur. As the gigantic mythological creature came crashing down on the Uprising soldiers with his massive hooves, he swatted at them with his powerful arms and charged the rest away with his massive horns. The Tamaranian soldier looked up as the gigantic creature transformed back into a skinny green boy.

The soldier turned to him and said, "Thank you, green warrior." Beast Boy, took a pose and brushed some imaginary dust off of his shoulders saying proudly, "Pssh, it was nothing. All in a days work for a…" But Beast Boy was cut off as the soldier he had just protected fell victim to a sneak attack from behind. The soldier was stabbed in the back and then shot at numerous times. Beast Boy's pose instantly deflated as his jaw hit the floor. The rage boiled up inside of him as he charged at the soldiers, screaming, "No-o-o-o!!!"

He was so filled with rage that he almost forgot to transform himself and at the last minute, he turned into a giant triceratops and began to skewer the Uprising soldiers. One survived the charge and ran away. Beast Boy, now in cheetah for, chased after him, but came to a halt and turned back into his normal self when he saw the hundreds of soldiers lining up to protect him. Knowing that this moment meant his life, Beast Boy quickly transformed into his ultimate beast persona, ready to attack when Raven and the others flew by.

Raven called out, "Come on, B.B., you through wasting time?" The beast looked up and jumped onto the platform. Beast Boy transformed into his normal self and stared confused at the Green Raven, asking, "Hey, Rae, you okay?"

"Fine as Friday, B.B." Raven answered.

Beast Boy turned to Robin and said, "I thought she hated war."

Robin answered, "So did I, I'm as confused as you are."

"So what's the plan," Cyborg asked."

"We're going after R'yannd'r and the other captives."

"What happened?"

Starfire's eyes blinked open as she heard the sounds of explosions outside. She tried to get to her feet, but felt extremely dizzy. As she tried to shake off what it was that caused her to feel this way, she remembered her sister, Blackfire, beating her before she blacked out.

"I have been hit by my sister before," Starfire thought, "but never like this. She seems much stronger now. What happened? I guess she finally grew up."

Starfire walked in a slow zigzag down the hallway, constantly leaning against the wall. She put her hand on her head to keep it from spinning, but it wasn't working. Her hand slid down her cheek. As it did, she felt something strange on her. She looked at her hand and saw blood. She put her hand to her mouth again and pulled it back to see only more blood.

Starfire got mad. As she heard the sound of explosions in the background, she tried to pull herself together.

"Okay, what happened before I blacked out," Starfire asked herself. She remembered being hit repeatedly by her sister, but never being able to see her, and she also remembered how her sister was able to wipe out the small army that was with her all by herself.

"Something has definitely changed in my sister," Starfire thought, "But I must defeat her." Why, she asked herself. She knew she had to stop her sister, but why? What did she say to Starfire to get her so fired up? Another explosion went off outside and it triggered something in Starfire's memory.

A bomb.

A bomb placed blow the citadel.

A bomb that would not only destroy the citadel, but Tamaran as well.

Starfire instantly shook off the pain she was feeling and flew upwards, searching the hallways for her sister. One hallway after another, there was nothing, yet Starfire still flew with intensity to find her sister. Outside, she heard the screams of her fellow soldiers, which only enraged her further. Then, she heard a more familiar scream, which made her fly over to the window. Below, she saw her friends, Robin, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy all fighting an army that had amassed around them. Robin was letting out a battle cry that Starfire had never heard in him before. It was higher pitched and sounded like what Robin explained to her was Japanese. The warrior in Robin was coming out and Starfire knew that sound would only come out when things were at their most grave.

"Robin," she screamed from over two hundred stories up. All of the soldiers heard this and looked up to see Starfire leaping down from the window and firing starbolt after starbolt at the army around her friends. The army tried to fire back, but Starfire was too enraged to slow down long enough to be hit. By the time she descended on the army, she had already taken out at least a tenth of their numbers. She fought each of the uprising soldiers off with such tenacity that many of them decided to turn and run into the woods.

Starfire ran after the soldiers, screaming and chasing them off. Robin merely looked at her in disbelief. The once normally shy and sweet-natured girl that he knew was now standing before him with a bruised and battered face, which only blanketed her war-like face. Robin then back at the other Titans. Cyborg was actually looking pretty melancholy, Raven was still in her green cape and pumping her fists into the air and Beast Boy just stood in a ready-to-fight position. Robin took a breath as he realized that his team was changing.

"Beast Boy, you okay," Robin asked.

"Fine," Beast Boy answered plainly.

"No jokes or anything like that," Robin asked suspiciously.

"Nope, just waiting for the next fight."

"Boo-yah! We kicked their butts, didn't we," Raven was yelling triumphantly. "High fives, all around."

Robin turned his head to the sound of rockets were heard in the distance. The whole team looked to see a series of ships taking off from the ground into Tamaran's stratosphere.

"Hah, got you off and running now, don't we," Raven said.

"They are not running," Starfire said, "They are evacuating. There is a bomb beneath the citadel that will destroy the palace…and with it…Tamaran."

"Can we stop it?"

At that moment, Raven's cape transformed back into the typical blue as she clutched her head in searing pain and fell to the ground. Robin and Starfire rushed over to help her up. "No, we can't the bomb," Raven answered with her eyes glowing white.

"How can you tell," Robin asked.

"It's an ion destabalizer," Raven continued, "I felt it affecting the core of Tamaran when I first came here, but it's gotten stronger since. It will only be a matter of minutes before Tamaran is completely destroyed."

Starfire's mouth hung open. "So what can we do," she asked.

"Get as many people off this planet as we can," Raven said.

Starfire levitated and began to fly back towards the citadel saying, "Starting with my parents."

"Star," Robin interceded, "There's something else."

Starfire looked at him and asked, "What is it, Robin?" Robin remained silent. Starfire asked, "Why is it so hard for you to tell me?"

Robin took a moment before saying, "When you saved us out here, we were going after R'yannd'r. Starfire, you're brother's been taken prisoner."

Starfire was taken aback and just hovered in the air for a moment before slowly landing. She was quiet for a moment as her mind decided who would to go after her brother. Before she could answer, a light flashed on her from above. As she looked up, she saw that a swarm of the Uprising's attack ships had spotted them and had turned around. Within a matter of seconds, the parade of attack ships surrounded the Titans, leaving them no place to escape. Robin signaled his team to be ready, but before they could attack, a squadron of Tamaranian attack ships cut them off and fired back at the Uprising's ships, forcing them to retreat back into the stratosphere. The Tamaranian attack ships followed in hot pursuit, except for three larger ones, which landed in front of the Titans.

The bay door opened in front of them, revealing Galfor. Starfire flew towards him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Kanorfka, thank you," she said.

"Anything for my bumgorf," Galfor answered as he looked into the troubled eyes of Starfire. He asked, "What troubles you, Koriannd'r?"

Starfire hung her head and said, "Oh, Galfor, it's all over, our planet, our way of life. Blackfire planted an ion destabalizer that threatens every passing minute of Tamaran. Now, I have to decide whether I should save my imprisoned brother or my parents who have ascended to the top of the citadel."

Galfor nudged Starfire's head upwards and said, "What does our empress decide?"

"But Galfor," Starfire pleaded, "I am no longer empress, I gave that title up to you."

"And I am seeking your advice," Galfor replied, "Now, what are our orders?"

Starfire took a deep breath, then flew up to one of the pilot's windshields and yells something in Tamaranian. Upon hearing his orders, the pilot revs his engines and lowers the cargo bay holders. Starfire then stands in front of Galfor and says, "I choose for you to go after my parents while I go after my brother. I know they will be safe with you." Galfor hugs Starfire and says, "They will be." With that, Galfor enters his ship and takes off towards the citadel. Starfire then turns to the Titans and says, "We will go after my brother." Robin nods and walks with Starfire towards the ship. The other Titans follow him into the ship, which takes off over the treeline.

Robin walked into the back room to see Raven sitting in a corner by herself with an uncomfortable look on her face. Robin walked over to her and asked, "Raven, are you feeling okay?"

Raven looked up with a heavy sigh, "I can feel this planet coming apart, Robin. It's not long before it's completely destroyed. We have to get out of here."

"I know," Robin said, trying to comfort Raven, "we're gonna get Starfire's brother, then we'll get out of here."

"I don't like this. It's not going to end well."

Robin wanted to say something comforting, but instead, he just hung his head. Within seconds, a siren was heard that brought both Robin and Raven to their feet. Robin saw Cyborg passing by and asked, "Cyborg, what's going on?"

"We're attacking an Uprising compound."

Hundreds of soldiers scattered as the Tamaranian battleship descended upon the small outpost and began firing at everything moving. Soldiers rushed to get to their stations, but would find them demolished before they got there. The battleship ripped through each battlepost and command center before all of the soldiers ran to their ships.

"Are you certain this is the compound that my brother is being held captive in," Starfire asked.

"Most certainly," the ship's commander said, "bio scans of the area suggest…

Starfire, not able to take sitting back, stood up and said, "Then that is all I need to know." She rushed over to the cargo bay, opened the door, and flew out on her own. She surveyed the territory, yelling, "R'yannd'r?! Brother, where are you?" Some of the Uprising's attack ships rose up in front of her, but Starfire merely outstretched her hands and something happened she didn't expect. A flurry of starbolts flew out of each fingertip like lightning bolts, tearing the ships to pieces. Starfire looked at her hands in disbelief. How was she able to react this fast?

Not wanting to dwell on something so trivial, she searched the remaining compounds for her brother until saw her brother and several other Tamaranian soldiers being held captive and marched aboard an Uprising ship. She flew towards the soldiers, letting loose a heavy barrage of starbolts on the Uprising soldiers. Everyone scattered as they tried to take cover from Starfire. One by one, she knocked out each and every one of them. She was chasing after one soldier hidden behind a stack of crates when one fairly sizable Uprising soldier stood in front of her and delivered a strong right hook to Starfire, knocking her to the ground. As she got to her feet, she saw the gigantic soldier running after her, swinging again. Before his fist could connect, she flew off of the ground and then threw a series of jabs to his face, which seemed to only faze him. Starfire knew that she was more powerful than her punches seemed to do to this man. The man threw an uppercut that not only took Starfire off guard, but lifted her two feet off of the ground and sent her crashing onto her back.

Shaking off the damage, she charged her fist with a powerful starbolt and then punched the man in the face, which sent the soldier reeling in pain. Starfire got up and then fired a series of starbolts at the man, which kept him shriveled on the ground. Finally, Starfire had decided that she had enough of fooling with this man, so she fired the most powerful beam she could muster from her eyes. Upon connecting with the soldier, the beam seemed to engulf him before disintegrating him.

Starfire stood in awe as to what she had just done. Something inside her was changing, become more powerful than she was used to. Under any other normal circumstance, she would have been excited, welcoming this change and any attempt she'd make to understand it. But instead, she felt only fear that she wouldn't be able to control herself in the middle of a battle.

"Koriannd'r, are you allright," yelled R'yannd'r from the ship's platform. Starfire looked up to see R'yannd'r standing up and looking at her with concern. Starfire flew over and broke the bonds that tied his hands behind his back. R'yannd'r hugged Starfire saying, "Thank you for coming for me."

"I would not have left you to die, my brother," Starfire said. She then broke the hug and rushed back into the Tamaranian battleship with R'yannd'r trailing behind.

As Starfire and R'yannd'r flew down the ship's hallway towards the ship's command bay, R'yannd'r asked, "Sister, what is the hurry?"

"Our parents are still in the citadel and we must go back for them," Starfire yelled in a panic. As she rushed towards the cockpit, Raven called out from behind, "Starfire, no!"

Starfire stopped dead in her tracks and turned to Raven, who was trying to stand up, but was obviously in pain.

"Starfire, this planet is about to be destroyed," Raven explained weakly, "I strongly suggest that we leave now."

"I can't abandon my parents, Raven," Starfire explained.

"You didn't, you sent Galfor after them."

"I have to help them, I can not just stand here and do nothing while my planet gets destroyed."

Raven walked up placed her hand on Starfire's shoulders, looked her in the eyes and said, "Starfire, you've done all you've can and there is still more that you can do for your people, but they'd need you alive. If you really want to help them, then don't put yourself at risk."

"I want to do so much more," Starfire explained, "I've been away for so long…"

Before Starfire could finish her thoughts, Raven lost her footing and began to collapse on the ground. Starfire quickly grabbed Raven before she could fall on the ground.

"Raven, what is wrong," Starfire asked.

"We have to go now," Raven said.

Raven blanked out as her head fell heavily into Starfire's arms. Starfire lifted Raven up and continued towards the command bay. Once inside, to the pilot and said, "Pilot, take us off of Tamaran."

The pilot nodded and the ship ascended upwards towards space. Starfire looked towards the direction of the citadel before turning around and walking out of the door. Starfire entered the infirmary and sat down to take a breath. She finally let the pain from the fight with the soldier and her sister take over as she fell down on the cot. All this time, she wanted to be strong for her planet and her people, but now here she was running from its demise. She looked out of the window at her planet as she saw the ground beneath her get smaller and smaller until it became engulfed in clouds. Soon, the clouds turned black and she saw Tamaran from the outside view from space.

"Anyone out there, this is emperor Myand'r of Tamaran, sending a distress call to anyone who will answer." The emperor had been frantically calling anyone who would listen. He looked back at his wife, Luand'r, who was trying to enhance the signal on the other side of the room.

"Anything yet," Luand'r asked.

"Nothing," Myand'r replied, "And I am no longer hearing any war noises outside."

"You are right, it has been too silent outside."

"I wonder what is going on."

At that moment, there was a pounding sound from outside the barricaded doors. Myand'r and Luand'r both grabbed their rifles nearby and pointed them at the doors. Then a voice from outside yelled, "Emperor, it is Galfor." Myand'r lowered his rifle and rushed to the doors, pulling all of the barriers away from the door and opening it. Galfor rushed in and said, "Emperor, we must leave this place now. There is an ion destabalizer below this citadel.

Myand'r and Luand'r both were in a state of shock at this news. Luand'r asked, "Who would do such a thing?"

"It was Kommand'r, your highness," Galfor said.

"Our daughter," Myand'r said in disbelief, "Why would she do such a thing?"

"It is a long story, but we have no time to explain."

A violent earthquake shook the entire palace, knocking down equipment, breaking walls and shattering the floors. Once the tremors stopped, Galfor looked up at the royal couple and said, "It is already beginning, we must leave now."

"How are we to escape this," Luand'r asked over the loud crashing behind her.

"We must get to the hanger on the ground level," Galfor said.

"But that's nearly two hundred levels below," Myand'r replied.

"That is why we must leave now."

As Galfor, Myand'r and Luand'r raced down the hallways as more tremors shook the ground from underneath them. They leapt over gaps in the hallways and dodged falling pieces of the ceiling before they finally had reached the hanger just as it the support beams were beginning to collapse. Galfor rushed everyone into his ship and started the engine. As the ship began to levitate, a support beam gave way in front of them and sent a series of boulders crashing down, blocking their way out. Galfor, beginning to get frustrated, grabbed the controls for the ships cannons and let loose a hellfire of energy blasts that eventually chipped the boulders away. Soon, the pathway was clear for them. Galfor punched the controls for the engine to hit full throttle and the ship took off with a powerful burst. As the ship soared through the hanger, pieces of the structure were falling all around them, even hitting the ship itself. Myand'r, who had taken the co-pilot's seat right next to Galfor asked, "How soon until we clear Tamaran's atmosphere?"

"At this rate, around two minutes."

The ship finally blasted out of the hanger as Galfor and Myand'r looked in front of them in horror. The tremors were eating many holes in the terrain, swallowing everything and everyone around them. Some of the holes created by the quakes actually had lava spew out from them as well. All hell was breaking loose on Tamaran as Myand'r and Luand'r looked at each other, hoping to find comfort as the ship made it's way into the atmosphere.

Starfire could see the violent changes on Tamaran even from the distance she was at in space. It brought tears to her eyes, but she noticed something from a far that made her want to sit up and look closer. It was a small glowing speck that was quickly rushing into space. Starfire looked closer and could recognize that it was Galfor's ship. A smile had finally returned to her face as she screamed for joy. She knew the only way that Galfor would return was with her parents safely on board. She was overjoyed, but the smile quickly left her face as from behind the ship, she saw the terrain of Tamaran break out in small bursts of orange and yellow. Soon, the entire planet became a giant fireball that exploded outwards into space. Starfire took a few steps back as the fireball actually lit up the blackness of space for a short while. She then noticed that the flames were rapidly approaching Galfor's ship from behind. She stared in anticipation, hoping that he would outrun the flames. But the flames were spreading too rapidly and eventually encased Galfor's ship. Starfire saw the ship glow orange, then eventually disintegrate into nothing.

"NOOO!!!" Starfire screamed at the top of her lungs as the flames finally dissipated and tapered off. She looked into the flames and saw that there was nothing left of Tamaran. The planet that she once held so dear in her memories now only existed as memories. She collapsed on the floor, ready to cry when R'yannd'r entered the room. Starfire turned to her brother and the two siblings embraced and began to cry. Starfire clung to her only family member as tightly as she could before he broke the hug to look her in the eyes.

"I know this is a hard time for you, Starfire," R'yannd'r said, "but something is happening right now that we need your help with."

"I do not know, brother," Starfire said between sobs, "I'm not sure of what else I can do right now."

"We really need you."

"For what."

"The hundreds of other Tamaranian ships that escaped into space to escape the war are calling in. They want to know what the next plan for Tamaran is."

"What are they asking for," Starfire wondered.

"Some ask for permission to settle on other systems while others ask for the blood of the uprising's army. They await your orders."

"Why do they need my orders?"

"They are asking for Empress Koriannd'r to give them their next plans. All of them are asking for you."

Starfire wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to look back at the void that was once Tamaran. She said, "Please, brother, let me have a moment alone." R'yannd'r turned away and walked back outside. As he did, he passed Robin in the hallway. They both stopped.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Tamaran," Robin said.

"Thank you," R'yannd'r said, "But it was not your fault to be sorry."

"If there's anything I can do," Robin began to say.

"You can go be with my sister," R'yannd'r said as he walked away. Robin looked back at the infirmary room.

As Robin walked inside, he saw Starfire bandaging up her wounds as she looked out the window. Robin walked up behind her and said, "Starfire, I don't know what to say to help you." Starfire only finished tying the bandage around her wrist as she continued to look out of the window. "Raven and Cyborg think we ought to return home, but we'd understand if you'd want to stay."

"And why would I not stay with my people, Robin," Starfire asked.

"I thought you would say that, but I want to remind you that you do still have a home, with us."

Starfire still looked outside as she said, "Do you see that pattern of stars there?" Robin walked over to the window as Starfire outlined the pattern of a circular "M" shape. Robin said, "Yeah, I see it."

"It was the first constellation charted by my people when the citadel was built to unite the colonies of Tamaran. What drew them to the pattern was that one in the center, the one that seems to shine purple. For an entire year, that one bright star in the center would never leave its place in Tamaran's sky. It became the beacon for all space navigators to use to find Tamaran. In fact, the royal crown was modeled after that constellation as a symbol of the harmony that we wanted for our planet. The constellation was then named B'an Giamdri P'lian, which means The Lavender Crown. Ever since its discovery, the purple star in the center shined brightly. Now that Tamaran is not there, I have been watching that purple star lose its luminosity and as I do, I can't help but think that if I don't do something, then our people will begin to fade away as well."

"Starfire, I promised to back you up any way that I could and I will," Robin said, "but I'm afraid as to what will happen to myself, the other Titans, even you if we stay behind."

"Then you do not have to stay, but I will to lead my people into one final battle against my sister where we will either have our revenge or we will be remembered for our courage. Either way, Tamaran will not fade so easily and I will make sure of that."

To Be Continued…


	5. The Refugee

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 5: The Refugee

"Would you know my name

if I saw you in heaven?

Would you feel the same

if I saw you in heaven?

I must be strong and carry on

cause I know I don't belong here in heaven."

- "Tears in Heaven"; Eric Clapton

"It's gone," Robin said. "It just isn't there anymore." Robin thought about what he just said about Tamaran. He had seen a lot of things destroyed in his life, but the site of seeing an entire planet get destroyed really disturbed him. "I mean, if you think about how many people lived on that planet that now have nowhere to go…I really can't think about it. It's too much. I guess that's why she feels the way she does. Starfire's family was the rulers of Tamaran and they did everything they could to keep their people safe. Then she came to live on Earth instead of taking over the throne, maybe she feels guilty about that, I don't know, but now she…she wants her people to keep fighting. I mean, their army is still huge and Starfire's army wouldn't even be an army. It would just be a few normal people fighting an army."

"And you're going to help her," a strong and horse voice asked over the communicator.

"I don't know," Robin said back to the communicator, "I don't think even the Titans could help this situation."

"Then you have to think as a leader, Robin," the voice responded in a stern manner, "You can't let your emotions get in the way of protecting your friends."

"It's not that easy, Batman," Robin responded.

"Yes, it is," Batman said, "You have to make the decision that is best for the team, even if that means cutting one person out that would endanger the group."

Robin said nothing. The advice Batman gave Robin was always wise, but never easy to take, especially since he was now being advised to ignore the one that he loved in favor of protecting his group. Robin didn't want to say anything that he would have to tie himself to.

"I'll check on her," Robin said, "I'll let you know what else is going on soon."

Robin turned off the communicator and walked out of his room down the hallway. He walked past the infirmary where he had just finished talking with Starfire. Robin thought about how she had just told him that she was about to lead her people into one final battle to avenge Tamaran, then he thought about how his team looked back on Tamaran before it was destroyed. Beast Boy was serious, Raven was gung-ho and Cyborg was keeping to himself. Now Starfire, his usually bubbly and cheerful friend, was no longer jubilant. Her attitude seemed now to be cloaked with only anger and vengeance. At first, she enticed Robin, now she just frightened him.

"You okay, man," Cyborg said walking up behind Robin.

"Just thinking about how much has changed in just one day," Robin said.

"It's pretty freaky, isn't it?"

"I don't know what's going to happen to all of us."

"What do you mean," Cyborg asked.

"I mean, what's going to happen to us after this war is all over? Do we even decide to get involved," Robin said, "Do we help Starfire because she's our friend or do we let her seek vengeance on her own and protect our team?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me," Cyborg said.

"I haven't decided yet."

Cyborg walked up to Robin and said, "Robin, I got your back no matter what you decide." Robin could hear the fear in Cyborg's voice as he said this, which was something that Robin had never head in his voice before. Cyborg turned to walk back down the hallway as Robin continued to look out of the window of the infirmary. What was his next move going to be?

Starfire walked into the bridge of the ship and looked at the numerous Tamaranians in front of various machines. Starfire overheard numerous people talking into communicators in Tamaran. She heard one phrase repeated, "Koriannd'r will speak with everyone shortly."

"Yes," Starfire thought, "There is no pressure on me." At the moment, R'yannd'r walked up behind her and asked, "What are your orders?"

Starfire took a moment to think. She knew that she had to approach every move carefully since the situation was fragile enough.

"Have we found the whereabouts of Blackfire yet," Starfire asked.

"No, but our scouts spotted her ship taking off into the Draconus Nebula along with the other ships from the uprising," R'yannd'r said, "We are monitoring that area to see if any Tamaranian ships have been spotted."

"Very well, we will continue into that nebula and wait until we've spotted their fleet before we make a decision. Meanwhile, I will contact all of the other…"

"Empress Koriannd'r," called a radio tech from the upper level, "We are receiving a distress signal from Taras three."

Starfire flew up to the radio tech and leaned towards the computer asking, "What is it?"

"I'll switch on the speaker," the radio tech said with the flip of a switch. A panicked voice the intercom rang out, yelling, "Is there anyone nearby? A fleet of Tamaranian warships is attacking my group. Oxygen supply is low, there are many splits in the ship's hull, we won't be able to last much longer. Please, someone come quickly, we are in a group of escape pods flying through the Taras system towards the Tamaranian…" The signal ended with a phrase of static.

Starfire turned to the tech and said, "What happened?"

"Someone must have taken out their communicating ship," the radio tech explained.

"They must be trying to reach Tamaran," R'yannd'r said.

"Then they are not aware of what happened yet," Starfire said, "which means they must have wanted our help for something."

"Do we still have a lock on their signal," R'yannd'r asked.

"Yes," the radio tech responded, "Their radio communication is knocked out, but we do have a lock on their signal. There is a fleet of Tamaranian ships attacking three escape pods."

R'yannd'r asked, "What's their position?"

The radio tech typed on his keyboard and answered, "Forty-five light years from the Draconus Nebula."

All eyes turned to Starfire. Starfire blinked and answered, "If they wanted our help, then we will offer it to them as we would if Tamaran was still here today."

The Tamaranian battleship raced across the galaxy at its top speed. Inside the ship's bridge, Robin and Raven walked inside and look around for Starfire. They spot her looking out of the front window. They walk up behind her.

"Starfire," Robin asked.

"Yes, Robin," Starfire asked without moving her head.

"The team and I agree that if we are to be with you through this war, then you need to include us in on what you're going to do."

"Fair enough, we are pursuing three ships we believe belong to the uprising's army."

"How far away are they," Raven asked.

"Escape pods in sight," the ship's navigator called out.

Outside, a fleet of at least fifteen ships is flying in such close formation that they are blocking the view of everything in front of them. No one can see what the fleet is firing on until three ships in front of the fleet break formation and scatter in three different directions. The fleet breaks apart and chase after the three ships.

"Track those ships," R'yannd'r called, "Make sure we know where they are at all times."

"Which ship should we follow," the ship's navigator asked.

Starfire looked outside and saw the fleet in front of the ship fire on and destroys one of the escape pods. They then split up and followed the other two.

"Follow the starboard ship and tell the gunners to take their positions. Give them permission to fire on the ships that are chasing the escape pods.

The engines blared on the Tamaranian battleship as it veered right towards the pursuit. In front of them, the escape pod was trying to maneuver around the endless barrage of laser fire that erupted around it. The cruiser sped closer towards the skirmish in front of them.

"Are they in range," Starfire asked the gunners over the intercom.

"Attack ships in sight," the gunner replied over the radio.

"Fire."

With that order, the Tamaranian battleship let out a hail of laser fire at the Uprising's attack ships. Four ships were hit, but this only signaled the other ships around them that they were being attacked. Two ships turned around and began to attack the battleship while the other two continued to follow the escape pod. The two attack ships made a swooping pass, firing at the battleship. As they did, the gunners scrambled to shoot them down. One attack ship was clipped on the wing, causing its trajectory to make it spin out of control. The other attack ship circled around for another pass, but was met with all of the turret guns blazing. The ship was blown into pieces as the battleship stayed its course and continued after the escape pod.

"Enemy ships are closing in on the target," the radar tech announced.

The gunners fired heavily at the other two attack ships, trying to keep them from destroying the other space ship.

"Come on, we have to get to that guy before…," Starfire's sentence was cut off by the attack ships firing heavily on the escape pod, blowing it to pieces.

"Damn it," R'yannd'r yelled.

The attack ships began to fly to the left, but the gunnery fire blew them out of the sky.

"What's the position on the other escape pod," Starfire asked the radar tech, who replied, "He's made his way into the ice ring of Narveni. His position hasn't changed, which means he's found a hiding place there.

"Then let's find him before the Uprising does. Change course towards Narveni," Starfire commanded. With that, the giant Tamaranian battleship made a sharp turn towards a giant green planet surrounded by a blue ring of ice.

The Tamaranian battleship skimmed the surface of the ice ring before descending down a crevice into the darker regions of the ring. The further down the ship went, the deeper the shade of blue got until it go so dark, the battleship had to turn its beacon lights on.

"Any sign of him," Starfire asked the radar tech.

"None yet," the radio tech responded. Just then, an explosion was heard from above them as the escape pod descended over their heads, quickly pursued by an Uprising attack ship.

"Catch up with them," R'yannd'r yelled as the engine techs pushed the engines to their maximum as the Tamaranian battleship chased after the two ships. The little ships were maneuvering though the tiny crevices with such ease, but the Tamaranian battleship had to pull up over the canyon in order to keep up at their speeds.

"Escape pod to Tamaranian cruiser, come in," said a panicked voice over the intercom. Starfire flew up to the radio tech and picked up the speaker.

"This is Starfire of the Annd'r family," Starfire said.

"Are you the one's above me right now," the voice asked.

"Yes, that is us."

"If you're going to do something, you better do it now, my fuel's about to drain completely."

Starfire looked at the other pilot's and yelled, "Can not the gunners get a clear shot?"

"Negative," the pilot answered, "the trench is too narrow to get a shot."

Raven looked down at the pursuit and saw the Uprising ship gaining on the escape pod, firing deadly sprays of laser fire all around the ship. Raven's eyes glowed white as she held out her hand over the ice canyon. Soon, the entire area became encased in black and began to break apart on the Uprising's ship. The ship maneuvered as well as it could, but the walls formed a series of giant ice spikes that shot out at the ship, impaling it before it exploded. The escape pod began to slow down as the wall in front of him formed a ramp leading up. The escape pod followed the path and came to a rest on the surface of the canyon as the Tamaranian battleship slowed its own speed down and came to rest in front of the escape pod.

"Thank you, Princess Koriannd'r," the refugee said as Starfire handed him a warm cup of water.

"I welcome you, my friend," Starfire said as she sat down in front of him. "So, you know my name, what is yours?"

"Karras," the refugee said.

"Karras, what business did you have at Tamaran," Starfire asked.

"I was trying to find refuge."

"Refuge from what," R'yannd'r asked.

"Me and my other friends and co-workers were being held captive by the Tamaranian uprising. We were going to Tamaran to seek for help from them."

"Where were you being held," Starfire asked.

"Psion Mansion on Wilklen."

R'yannd'r and Starfire looked at each other. Robin and Raven noticed this sudden exchange in glances.

"I take it this mansion has some significance," Raven said in her usual nonchalant way.

"The Psion fortress is the place where myself, my brother and sister …were given our powers," Starfire said.

"But what business would Blackfire's army have with them," R'yannd'r asked.

"Blackfire wants an army that no one would be able to defeat," Karras said, "She's putting her army through the same process that she and you two went through."

Starfire and R'yannd'r stared speechlessly at each other. Though they didn't say it, they knew that an army of Psion created soldiers would be an undefeatable army.

"How many have gone through," R'yannd'r asked.

"A couple hundred," Karras said, "but there's still more going through."

R'yannd'r turned to Starfire and said, "We have to stop them."

"I agree," Starfire said and turned to the ship's navigator, "Pilot, set a course for the planet Wilklen." R'yannd'r turned to the ship's radio tech and said, "Can you connect me with all of the frequencies that the escaped Tamaranian ships who called earlier?"

The radio tech's eyebrows jutted inward when he heard what was being asked of him. He turned to R'yannd'r and said, "Do you have any idea how long that is going to take?"

"Can it be done," R'yannd'r asked again.

"What are you doing," Starfire asked her brother.

"I remember the size of the Psion Fortress and it will take more than this attack ship to overthrow an army in there."

"Then let me go," Starfire asked, "I will deal with whatever…"

"Out of the question, we will need an army if we're going to invade," R'yannd'r brushed his sister off and turned to the radio tech and said, "Call me when you have the frequency."

Starfire took a deep breath and turned around to walk out the exit. She walked directly passed Robin and Raven without even acknowledging them and left the bridge. Robin's jaw hit the floor and he looked at the direction that Starfire had just walked out.

"She's definitely not herself," Raven said to Robin.

Robin turned to Raven, looking for something to say, but all of the emotions going through her mind made it nearly impossible for him to find the right words. Instead, Robin left the room as Raven followed behind him. R'yannd'r looked up and saw this exchange between Robin and Raven.

"He does care for her," R'yannd'r thought, "I wish the best for them, but I hope this war does not tear them apart."

Beast Boy sat in the shadows, changing his form over and over again. He would morph into a cheetah and practice his swiping and leaping. Then in midair he'd change into an eagle and swoop down, claws ready to strike. He'd land on the ground and turn into a triceratops that charged at the front door, which swung open and had Cyborg standing on the other side, freaking out at the charging green dinosaur. Beast Boy changed back into his normal form.

"Sorry," Beast Boy said plainly.

"What are you doing," Cyborg asked.

"Practicing," Beast Boy replied, turning his arm into various claws.

"You? Practicing?" Cyborg said with one cocked eyebrow, "that's not the Beast Boy that I know."

"Things change," Beast Boy said, forming a spiked tail from his spine and whipping it around.

"Come on, man," Cyborg said, holding up a game controller, "I got our game station hooked up here. You know you want to race me."

"I'm busy," Beast Boy said.

"I know you don't want to spend your whole time here practicing, let's play a few."

"I don't want to, I'm busy."

"What's your deal," Cyborg snapped, "Look, what happened back on Tamaran was a tragedy, but you shouldn't take it so personally that you…"

"Just let me practice, please," Beast Boy said with a stern tone.

"All I'm saying is maybe we should relax. Take it easy, you know."

"I can't take it easy," Beast Boy yelled, "You know how many people died out there because I took it easy? Because I was an immature little shit out there, showboating around and not looking where I needed to be. Not anymore."

"Then maybe I need to relax," Cyborg said.

"Then that's your deal," Beast Boy said, returning to his shadowboxing with gorilla arms.

"Come on, man," Cyborg pleaded, "we used to be a team. You'd make a stupid joke then I'd get on your case. I need some of that right now."

"I don't have anything to joke about," Beast Boy said as he became a monkey and climbed up to the ceiling. Cyborg dropped the controller on the ground and left the room.

Robin and Raven stood on the starship's bridge, overlooking the stars as they floated through space. Robin said, "I've been meaning to talk with you after we left Tamaran. Where'd that green cape come from that you wore during the battle?"

Raven turned her head so she could hide behind her hood.

"Because when you put it on, it was like you were a completely different person out there. Not that it was a bad side, but I'm not used to seeing you get excited about anything. I wondered if you were okay."

"I'm fine," Raven said, still hiding her face.

"Do you want to talk about what happened," Robin asked. Raven hung her head as she explained, "There's a lot of sides of me that I can't show because of my powers. I have goofy side, a sad side, even a…horny side, all of which I can't let out because if they were to take over, then they would control my powers and there would be no telling what kind of damage they would do without any control."

"And that green you was your…" Robin asked.

"My action-junkie side," Raven said as she turned her head to Robin and explained, "Believe it or not, but every time I fight with the Titans, I have a blast. The thrill of fighting, the danger, the sheer feeling that you get when you're doing something so unique and dangerous that your life and the lives of others hang in your hands and to be on the right side of that fight is such an honor. I can't help but feel excited whenever I fight, but I try to keep it under control. When we fought those soldiers, that side just got so overwhelmed to the point that it took over. I was able to meditate and get control over myself again when I could get away from it all."

"I'm sorry, Raven," Robin said.

"Don't be," Raven said, smiling a little, "I know these are hard times for everyone."

Robin remained silent and hung his head towards the hallway's window. Raven turned to Robin and said, "She's just not herself, Robin. You shouldn't take it so personal."

Robin's head quickly turned to Raven. "How did you know," he said.

"I can feel everyone's emotions," Raven said, "because you're all keeping them to yourselves now."

Robin asked Raven, "What's going on with Starfire?"

Raven replies, "If you're worried about how she's feeling about you, I can't tell because she's not even thinking about you right now."

Robin's shoulders dropped as he turned to look out of the window, longingly, as he said, "She didn't even look at me."

"You never used to mind before," Raven answered.

"But this time's different," Robin said turning around, "I just need to know that there's some trace of the Starfire I knew left. The sweet, loving girl that used to be a member of our team."

"There's a lot on her mind right now," Raven said, "and emotions are the last thing on her list."

"How do you know this," Robin asked.

"Because I can feel her becoming what I practice to be like," Raven said. Robin looked at her shocked as Raven simply nodded her head. At that moment, Cyborg passed them. Raven turned her head to him.

"You holding up okay, big guy," she asked with an abnormal amount of emotion for her.

"What do you care," Cyborg snapped as he just continued walking. Robin took notice of this instantly and turned to Cyborg.

"She just asked you a question," Robin said directly to Cyborg.

"And I gave her an answer," Cyborg said, "I don't feel much like talking about my feelings."

"Cyborg, what's wrong," Robin said, "You've been acting strange ever since we boarded this ship." Cyborg walked up slowly and angrily towards Robin. "I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it, I don't even want to mention it ever again. So could everyone just please drop it! I'm fine!"

Cyborg began to walk away.

"It's okay," Raven said. Cyborg stopped in his tracks and turned around to Raven, asking, "What's okay?"

"How you're feeling," Raven said, walking up to Cyborg, "I understand why you feel the way you do. What you're afraid of, it's normal for people to fear what you're afraid of after what you've been through."

Cyborg looked at Raven, who was staring sympathetically into his eyes. Cyborg could tell that she knew exactly what he was trying to keep a secret.

"It's not cool to be friends with someone who can read your mind," Cyborg said to Raven, turning his head out of shame. Cyborg then turned his head back to look at Raven, but his eyes were softer and more fearful.

"Don't tell anyone," Cyborg said before he turned around and walked back down the hallway. Raven took a deep breath as Robin walked up behind her.

"What was that all about," Robin asked Raven. Raven turned to Robin and said, "Cyborg needed a friend."

"Raven," Robin said, "you've never just simply gone into our minds like this, why now?"

Raven looked Robin in the eyes and said, "Everyone is holding their shames inside and they don't want to tell each other because it hits too close to our own weaknesses. It's good that we're trying to be heroes and all, but we need to be honest with each other and if the truth doesn't come out, then I'm afraid this team is going to fall apart from the inside."

Robin was too scared to say anything to Raven. Instead, he just put his arm around Raven and gave her a small hug. Robin knew she didn't want to feel emotion, but he felt like he had to hold onto someone from his team.

"Kory, Kory, wake up," said a familiar gentle voice. A young Starfire, no more than six years old, slowly opened her eyes. Standing in front of her was her sister, Blackfire, but she was only ten or eleven then.

"Sister, where are we," Starfire said in a weak voice as her eyes focused on her surroundings. She was in a spacious, yet sterile white room with bright yellow lights all around her.

"We're in some kind of lab," Blackfire said, "but we need to get out."

"Why," Starfire asked frightened, "Where are our mom and dad?"

"They're not here, Kory," Blackfire said, "but we need to go find them. There are people coming for us that are going to take us prisoner."

Young Starfire gasped as she could hear the sound of explosions and gunfire outside. She looked behind her sister at a doorway that had its door torn from its hinges.

"Did you do that," Starfire asked.

Blackfire smiled warmly, "Yes, sister. They've done something to us here, something incredible. I want to learn about what they did to us and I don't want to learn about them in some prison somewhere. Come with me."

Young Starfire was still weak as she tried to stand up, "I can not move that fast. I am so tired." Blackfire helped Starfire to her feet and said to her, "You don't have to stand, watch this." Blackfire began to levitate off of the ground. Starfire's jaw nearly fell off of her mouth. "How are you able do that," she asked.

"Easy," Blackfire began to explain, "just think of the most joyful memory that you can think of." Young Starfire closed her eyes, trying hard to remember something pleasant. After a few minutes, she began to cry. Blackfire hugged her and said, "Sis, what's wrong?"

"I am trying to remember our mom and dad," Starfire sobbed, "but I can not even remember what they look like."

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry," Blackfire said, hugging her sister even tighter, "They must have wiped our memories. But try not to think of how they look, think of how they made you feel."

Starfire closed her eyes again and began to smile. As she did, she began to float. Blackfire held her sister's hand and said, "Now, hold onto that thought and let's get out of here."

Within seconds, Starfire and Blackfire were soaring down the hallways as they heard the approaching sound of gunfire behind them.

Young Starfire sat on the top of a hill, looking down on the fortress that they had just escaped. The fortress was being ransacked and scattered through by soldiers. Blackfire stood next to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Starfire looked up at her sister.

"Thank you," Starfire said as she smiled.

"Hey, what are sisters for," Blackfire said as she helped her sister to her feet, "You feeling any better?"

"Yes, very much so, thank you," Starfire said as she stood up straight and stretched her shoulders. "So, where do we go now, sister?"

Blackfire looked around, then back at her sister and said, "I'd say anywhere that's the farthest from here." Blackfire looked up, then looked back at her sister with a smile as she said, "Hey, wanna see how high we can go?" Starfire smiled and took her sister's hand as they began to fly towards the stars. A sense of exhilaration and joy overcame Starfire. She turned to her sister and said, "I am thankful that you rescued me, sister."

Blackfire looked back at Starfire, smiled and said, "Of course I rescued you, sis. I love you, you borangian nelwart."

Starfire laughed and said, "I am not the nelwart, you are the nelwart." Blackfire and Starfire laughed and traded insults as they soared across the stars.

Starfire's eyes looked down from the stars as she looked back at the fortress she remembered from her childhood. The fortress was still filled with soldiers, but a different kind from her memories and they had taken up inhabitance of the fortress. The place looked less like a laboratory and more of an army camp. R'yannd'r walked up behind Starfire and asked, "Sister, what is the matter?"

Starfire turned to R'yannd'r and asked, "R'yannd'r, do you remember being there?" R'yannd'r looked close at the fortress for a while as his eyes began to drift as the memories began to flood through his mind.

"Yes, I do," R'yannd'r said almost faintly.

"What do you remember," Starfire asked.

"I remember being taken prisoner by an army of soldiers." Starfire's head turned to face her brother. "What else," she asked. R'yannd'r began to fade away as he continued, "I woke up in this room and I couldn't remember anything. The next thing I knew, these men with guns came in and started to drag me out of the room. I was taken to this prison on Drenthax nine before I fully learned about my powers and broke out. I returned home to find out who my parents were and discovered the state of Tamaran. When I learned that I had a sister on Earth that could help, I sought you out. That was about ten years ago…I was three when all this started to happen. Why do you want to know?"

"Just…memories. Some things that need to be made clear to me." R'yannd'r walked in front of Starfire and said, "Starfire, whatever memories that you may have right now you need to put aside. The other Tamaranians that you've called for have answered your call and they are ready to storm this fortress. They have been briefed and await your call to arms."

Starfire turned to look at the other side of the hill and saw a vast army standing in front of her. Standing in the background were the rest of the Titans, who were watching her with worried eyes, waiting for her orders. Starfire took a breath, looked back, then at the sky as she saw the sun slowly descend over the fortress before turning back to the army.

Robin took a few steps toward Starfire and asked, "You remember this place?"

Starfire looked back at the fortress, and said, "Yes, and I know that the people inside are not the people who belong in there. We will wait until the fog from the Gundav River rises, then we will have a small amount of time to storm the front gate before it lifts and they will be able to see us. We will attack before sunrise, and we will show them no mercy."

Robin looked at Starfire and saw the change in her eyes. Gone were the bright and optimistic eyes that he fell in love with. In their place was a pair of emotionless and unforgiving eyes. Raven turned to Robin and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I hope it will be over, too," Raven said, "that when all this ends we can go back to the way things were."

Robin hung his head and said, "I'm not so sure we can. I'm afraid this will be the end of the Titans."

To Be Continued…


	6. Storming the Psion Fortress

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 6: Storming the Psion Fortress

"I made a fire and watching burn  
Thought of your future  
With one foot in the past now just how long will it last  
No, no, no have you no ambition  
My mother and my brothers used to breathe in clean in air  
And dreaming I'm a doctor  
It's hard to be a man when there's a gun in your hand  
Oh I feel so..."; Tears for Fears; "Head Over Heels"

The fog from the Gundav River that blanketed the field in front of the Psion Fortress was so thick that Starfire flew through it unnoticed. She was counting on the thickness of the fog to hold for at least another ten minutes so she could plant the massive amount of explosives she was carrying by the fortress wall. Once she reached the wall, she looked up to make sure her approach went unobserved. The soldiers along the wall kept pacing back and forth, straining their eyes to see anything through the fog.

"I wish that they would send me in on my own," Starfire thought as she planted the explosives by the wall. "This army has destroyed my home and invaded another, they should be mine for the disposal." Hatred and anger filled Starfire's blood as she set the detonator device and began to fly back towards her awaiting army.

"If it were up to me, I would have invaded this fortress on my own," Starfire thought as she flew through the fog with a lit starbolt in her hands to show herself the way. "I would fight through them to get to my sister." She then remembered the dream she had about Blackfire showing her the way out of the prison. "What would make her suddenly turn on me like that? She tries to have me arrested and even tried to marry me to that blob thing. Why has she done these things to me when I have done nothing but love her? If she wants to declare war on all that I hold dear, then I will destroy everything of hers to find the answer and make her pay for what she has done."

Starfire soared in front of the army's holding position behind the tree line of a nearby forest. As the fog began to dissipate, the sharpshooters behind the trees took aim towards the fortress. Starfire looked around and saw that the only people who responded were the farmers and the working class of Tamaran.

"These people are not soldiers," Starfire whispered to R'yannd'r, "How could we include them in this army."

"We have no army left to call," R'yannd'r whispered back to Starfire, "These are other Tamaranians who wish to fight their oppressors, same as you." Starfire to a closer look at the army as they held their weapons high towards the fortress and saw that in their eyes burned a passion for war that she understood all too well. She placed her hand on the detonator button and asked, "Now?"

R'yannd'r looked out at the fog as it nearly dissolved and said, "Blow the wall." Starfire's finger hit the trigger and almost instantaneously, there was a tremendous explosion that echoed from the Psion Fortress. As Starfire turned to look, she a giant cloud of smoke and bricks being thrown in every direction. Soldiers stationed on the wall were thrown high into the air as others pointed their weapons outwards, looking for the source of the attack.

The Tamaranian army prepared to fire, but R'yannd'r held his arm to hold. "Not yet," he called. Starfire looked at him angry, as she was ready to fight.

"Wait for the response vehicles," R'yannd'r said.

Within moments, monstrous war machines wheeled out of the fortress and began scanning the area. R'yannd'r looked at Starfire and asked, "Are you ready?"

Starfire looked at her brother from under her eyebrows, telling him all he needed to know with her eyes. Starfire looked back at the army and said, "Wait for my signal." With that, R'yannd'r turned to Starfire and hit her on the shoulder as he said, "Let's go." R'yannd'r and Starfire took off after the war machines, firing starbolt after starbolt at the machines, causing them to turn and fire at them.

The two flying Tamaranians were met with heavy firepower from the vehicles, but they were moving too fast to be hit. They continued to fire at the vehicles, leaving them in cinders, but then more began to pour out from inside the fortress. Starfire flew under one of them and lifted it up high over her head as she tossed it back towards three others, causing a fiery collision. R'yannd'r was busy disarming each of the machines as he took out their wheels, leaving them incapacitated. Within a matter of minutes, a massive wave of Uprising soldiers poured out from the inside and surrounded the two Tamaranians. Starfire stopped in midair and waved her arms. As she did, a hell storm of laser fire erupted from the treeline on the Uprising soldiers as the Tamaranian army emerged from the tree line and began to storm the fields of the fortress.

The Titans held back in the forest as they watched the war from a distance. Beast Boy was leaping around, changing from form to form as he was being held back by a black leash that Raven had tied around his neck.

"Let me go," Beast Boy cried as he morphed from a Tyrannosaurus Rex to a Saber-Toothed Tiger, even a gerbil in hopes that he'd get too small for him to be held back.

"Not until you've had your shots," she said as she looked at then army charging and asked Robin, "Should we be with them?"

"No," Robin replied, "We're only here to back them up when they need it. I'm not putting my team at risk over another planet's war." Raven nodded as she looked out at the battlefield, seeing the Tamaranian army cross the field and even drive the Uprising army back into the fortress. Soon, both armies were inside.

"Titans," Robin called out, "advance on the fortress. We need to take a higher ground so we can see everything." As he did, the four Teen Titans ran across the battle-ravaged field. The closer they got, the closer the sounds of explosions and gunfire could be heard. Raven's cloak began to shade into green.

Inside the fortress, the Tamaranian army was met with heavy gunfire from all directions. It seems the soldiers inside the Psion fortress were leading them into a trap, where multiple guns mounted on all towers were firing down on them, soldiers had fashioned outposts in front of every doorway and in the courtyard, an army twice the size of the Tamaranian's were in waiting, along with numerous other war vehicles, that were firing on Starfire, who was trying to fly above the whole mess and get a layout of the battlefield.

R'yannd'r watched his sister with his army while they were crouched behind a small wall. Every spare gun was being used to shoot at Starfire as she circled the field, firing starbolt after starbolt on the soldiers. Finally, the towers and the vehicles all aimed their guns at her and fired at once, covering her with a massive barrage of laser fire that knocked her out and sent her careening towards the ground.

"Koriannd'r!!" R'yannd'r screamed as he took off to catch his sister. He swooped down and caught her before she hit the ground and took her back to his hiding area. Starfire began to shake off the effects of being shot multiple times and started to come to.

"What were you thinking out there," R'yannd'r yelled at Starfire, "You were almost killed!"

"I was trying to get to the lab," Starfire said as she started to stand back up. R'yannd'r grabbed her and forced her back down. "You're not going anywhere," R'yannd'r said as a massive Uprising super soldier came crashing through the opposite wall and began to destroy the Tamaranian soldiers with his bare hands. R'yannd'r stood up and yelled, "I will take this one." R'yannd'r rushed at the mighty soldier and began to swing at him. The two seemed evenly matched as far as strength. Starfire looked around at the other Tamaranian soldiers as they all stayed in their collective hiding spaces, turning to her.

"What now, Princess," one soldier asked as Starfire looked around the field and saw that the Uprising's army was closing in on theirs. Starfire wondered herself what they would do.

From above, the soldiers that were on top of the wall were now firing down below on the Tamaranians. All of the sudden, a grappling hook wrapped around one guy and pulled him off of the wall. Then a powerful blue blast knocked out three guys standing next to each other. A wall of black energy flew towards three soldiers, surrounded them and pulled them under the wall. Then a gigantic green insect-like creature climbed up the wall and began impaling the remaining soldiers. After all were massacred, the insect turned into a very astute Beast Boy, who looked down on the carnage below. Another grappling hook attached to the wall and pulled Robin up as well. A black silhouette of a raven appeared, pulling Cyborg up through the wall with Raven.

Robin turned to Beast Boy, confused, and asked, "Where'd you get that one?"

"Saw it when we landed," he said with an abnormal amount of directness, that is, for Beast Boy. The four Titans looked down on the onslaught. The Tamaranian army was being pinned back against the wall, scavenging for any kind of shielding that lay about. In front of them was an army that matched them in numbers, but what was more troubling was the battery of guns that were overhead that cut into the Tamaranian's army heavily, despite the shielding they found. Robin turned to his team and asked, "Well, what do you say, do we help them or do we let them handle it on their own?"

Beast Boy yelled, "We've got to help them, they need us!" Robin turned to Raven, who said, "They'll be slaughtered if we don't help." Cyborg started to object when he looked down and saw R'yannd'r fighting one of the soldiers that Cyborg was fighting with. Cyborg also saw that two more super soldiers were approaching the battle.

"I've got a score to settle, too," Cyborg said as he jumped down off of the wall and landed in front of the two approaching soldiers. With the blink of an eye, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at the two soldiers, knocking them backwards. Robin said to Raven, "You take the tower guns, Beast Boy and I will…" Robin turned to Beast Boy, who was already soaring down to meet the Uprising soldiers head on as a massive dragon creature. Robin turned to Raven, who had already formed a telekinetic skid for her to ride as she flew upwards towards the guns. Robin looked closer and saw that she was now wearing a green cape. Robin let out a heavy sigh as he fired his grappling hook and swung down to fight by Beast Boy's side.

"They are helping me," Starfire thought, "My friends are really fighting by my side." Such a sight warmed her heart as she looked down the battlefield and saw the entrance to the Psion lab that she had been looking for. Suddenly, the warmth disappeared as she signaled the other Tamaranian troops.

"Kalthazia Rimonay," Starfire screamed (which translated to Soldiers! Advance!). As she did, every Tamaranian soldier arose from their hiding position and fired back on the Uprising army as they met them on the battlefield, head on. Laser fire erupted all around the field, some from above that seemed to keep the Tamaranians from advancing too far. Starfire looked ahead at her destination: the entrance to the Psion Fortress. She squinted her eyes and saw that in the distance, the leaders of the Uprising army at that station were at that outpost.

"Do I help my friends," Starfire thought, "Or do I pursuit the men responsible for this atrocity?" Fire poured through Starfire's veins as she stared at the leaders, who were being rushed into the Psion Lab entrance. Soon, Starfire was no longer concerned for her friends or for the people who fought for her. She only thought about making the people who destroyed Tamaran pay. Starfire took off across the courtyard, over all of the soldiers and her friends. Laser fire went off all around her, even hitting her square in the back, but she only focused on catching the men at the other end of the field.

The powerful Gatling guns, twelve in total, one for each high tower on the Psion Fortress, were all firing at their fullest capacity on the Tamaranian army. Suddenly, one gun was firing at a black shield that approached the gun. Soon, the shield encased the barrel of the gun and snapped it in half. The gunners behind the gun looked in disbelief as a girl in a green cape arose over the rubble.

"Did I break your toy," Raven said in a coy voice as the soldiers ran away. She waved her hand and suddenly, four wires snapped loose from the gun and ensnared the four gunners, tying them up like cocoons and suspending them from the tower. A laser shot whizzed right past her face as she turned around to see that she had attracted the attention of two other towers.

"More playmates," Raven said as she formed two black spears out of her energy and fired them at the towers, detonating them in a massive explosion. Raven smiled at the destruction.

"Control yourself," Raven thought to herself, "Don't let her get the better of you or you could make a fatal mistake." As she began to meditate, the blue cape appeared back on Raven as more Gatling guns focused their attention on the hovering girl. Raven pulled the hood of her cape back up over her face as she took off towards the guns.

Below, the Tamaranian soldiers were advancing on each of the outposts, overtaking each on. One army began to charge the field when they were stopped in their tracks by a war vehicle, which aimed its side cannons at the army. Suddenly, a gigantic green elephant rammed the side of the vehicle, overturning it and sending flipping towards the nearest wall. The Tamaranian army looked in front of them as the elephant morphed back into a scrawny green-skinned kid.

"Follow me," Beast Boy said, "I'll keep you safe." With that, Beast Boy ran in front of the Tamaranian army, attacking anything that stood in their way. Beast Boy watched over each soldier in the battalion behind him to make sure that they were all safe. From across the field, Robin saw this display of bravery from Beast Boy, but started to scowl at him.

"Glad you're protecting one army," Robin thought as he swung over an outpost, dropping numerous charges below him, "but everyone else could use some help as well." Robin looked back and saw the numerous other battalions, all whom were struggling to advance on every outpost. One such outpost sent soldiers out to attack Robin. Robin began fighting them off, but the started to surround him, keeping him pinned to the wall. At that moment, Robin made a decision to do what he had never done to do during a fight.

"This is no fight," Robin told himself, "This is war." Robin picked up his communicator and called out, "Titans, regroup!"

No response.

Robin called into the communicator again, "Titans, respond and regroup!"

No response.

Robin looked around to see if he could spot his group. All he saw was fighting in all different directions. "Then that's how it's gonna be, huh," Robin thought as he drew his staff and took a stance against the army that was keeping him pinned against a wall.

Starfire ignored the battle that raged below her and flew straight towards the outpost where the leaders were being hidden away. Starfire tossed starbolt after starbolt, reducing the wall and it's weapons to ashes. The soldiers that charged at her were met with a powerful fighter. Starfire punched soldiers and sent them soaring or she would throw others against the wall.

Starfire wasn't pulling her punches anymore; she was finally letting her strength out.

Her eyes glowed an eerie and soulless green as she stared at the leaders being hurried down the hallway. She snapped the neck of the final soldier and flew into the door after the men in charge.

"Who's the weak one now," Cyborg said as he started punching the one Uprising super soldier repeatedly. Cyborg eventually knocked him out cold, but was rammed by another super soldier from the side, which sent him flying backwards. Cyborg got up as he said, "You just made the biggest mistake of your life." Cyborg's arm became the sonic cannon again, but this time, the super soldier tossed a starbolt at his arm, shattering it into pieces. Cyborg's eyes got wide in disbelief.

"Oh, it's on now," Cyborg said as he ran at the super soldier with all of his strength, but the soldier, having two hands at his disposal, began to attack and punch Cyborg around.

"I'm not going down to another one of you freaks again," Cyborg said as he dropkicked the soldier, sending him flying backwards. Cyborg stood looking at his arm, unable to believe that he got damaged again.

"Least there's no more of them," Cyborg thought as he saw that R'yannd'r was shrugging off the last of the super soldiers. He approached Cyborg, looked at his arm and said, "You require medical attention."

"I've got it," Cyborg said, "Just tell what else you need me to do." R'yannd'r looked at Cyborg's arm, then at his eyes. R'yannd'r drew his gun and aimed it towards the end of the courtyard and told Cyborg, "Follow me, friend."

Raven surrounded a tower with black and took it apart brick by brick, toppling another one and leaving only five towers left, who by now are all aiming at Raven for fear of their own demise. Raven kept putting up shield after shield as the onslaught of laser fire in the air became more and more intense. She began to feel the action junkie side of her start to poke through as she fought to keep it under control.

"You're not getting back out," Raven said to herself, "I can't lose control right now." Just then, a blast hit her dead in the shoulder, leaving a giant cut in her arm. As she turned to face the tower where it came from, the blue in her cape turned green as she encased the tower's gun in energy and yanked it out from it's tower, decimating the entire structure. She turned to face the other four towers, but a dark smile emitted from underneath her green hood.

"I see you boys want some target practice," Raven said as she flew in between each of the tower as they continued to fire at her, but Raven's navigation proved to be too cunning as she used the gunfire to hit each of the other towers. The one tower left, Raven let out a giant smile as she used the index and middle finger of each hand to slash at the base of the final tower, cutting through and causing the tower to fall to the ground. Raven looked down and the green side instantly left her as she saw the tower collapse on both Uprising and Tamaranian soldiers. She gasped and instantly hid among the remains of the last tower as she started to shake, but then instantly got control over herself. She folded her legs and sat meditation style as began to forcefully chant to herself repeatedly.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Come on, Raven, get it under control. Can't lose it again…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

Starfire flew down the narrow and winding hallways, feverishly chasing after the men who were in charge of the Uprising's outpost. She heard them yelling among themselves:

"Retreat back to the lab."

"Call Blackfire for reinforcements."

Upon hearing her sister's name, Starfire sped up even more, catching up to the men inside the lab. They tried to close the door on her, but she actually punched through and was standing facing three men, two armed and the third was dressed in a regal style. But what she was even more amazed at was that she was finally in the laboratory that haunted her dreams, the place where she remembered where the men in the leathery coats pumped the boiling green liquid into her infant body.

Now, rows of soldiers lined up like an automobile assembly line were in cryogenic state, hanging from the ceiling and waiting for the process. Starfire's jaw hung open in shock at the horror that she discovered. In the far right corner, one soldier snuck over to the radio control system and began to tap into the controls.

"Gamma one, this is Beta three, we've been…" the soldier started to report, but a massive starbolt flew at the radio, igniting it in a fiery explosion that swallowed up the soldier, leaving the other two soldiers to stand in front of the leaders and face a rage-filled Starfire. Shaking, they both raised their guns, but Starfire fired a blast from her laser eyes that melted their guns. She flew towards them, picked them up and tossed them across the room, into various machines. Starfire eyed down the cowering leaders.

"Where is Blackfire," she said in a disturbing monotone voice.

"You're too late," one leader said, "She's already moved her army to her next target." Starfire picked the man up with one hand and held him high in the air.

"Where is the next target," Starfire screamed at the man, who was terrified for his life, yet still had a defiant look in his eyes.

"It won't do you any good even if you knew," he said, "she can't be stopped. Her soldiers have gone through the process and…she's still the strongest one in the group." Starfire knew that she wasn't going to get anything from him, so she rammed the man's head into the wall and dove after the other leaders.

Karras and R'yannd'r walked into the room to see the bodies of all the other Uprising leaders and soldiers scattered around the room. In the center, Starfire was sitting on the platform where she was experimented on. She looked up at her brother and started to cry.

"I remember they were so kind," Starfire said in a weak voice as she held a white leathery lab coat. "They did not want me to be afraid, but did not want me to hurt either. One of the men hugged me after it was over and tried to get me to stop crying. I could tell he felt so bad for me." At that moment, she looked up at Karras the way that a child would look to her favorite babysitter and said, "It was you, was it not?" Karras walked over to Starfire and said, "I hated to see you in pain, Koriannd'r. Your parents entrusted you to me and told me to make you into the best that I could so that no matter what happened to them, you would be able to take care of yourself. But to do that kind of process on a child, it was almost too much considering your parents were like family."

Starfire threw her hands around the man and said, "It is a shame what they did to this place. They had to pay, so I made them pay."

R'yannd'r slowly walked up to Starfire and said, "Sister, about the soldiers we attacked." Starfire devoted her full attention to her brother who continued, "We were able to gather that the last of Blackfire's army was meant to be put through the process here, then be sent to Centarui."

Starfire looked up and asked, "Why Centauri, they are not part of Tamaran's rivalry."

"We still don't know what business they would have with Centauri," R'yannd'r said, "But one thing we do know is that they are planning a massive invasion."

Starfire jumped to attention and said, "Then they must be warned, we must tell the Centaurians that…"

"There's more," R'yannd'r continued, "We've also gone through their supply warehouse and seized everything that they left behind, but there's records that they took two more ion destabalizers with them. One was destined for Centauri, the other is for Earth."

A chill ran through Starfire's blood as she remembered seeing what an ion destabalizer did to Tamaran. She could not allow such a tragedy to befall another planet like it did her own, especially Earth. She stood up and said, "Then there is no time to be wasted here." Starfire flew out the door, leaving Karras and R'yannd'r walking around the lab.

"This is where it all happened," R'yannd'r said, looking at all of them machines in the room, taking in all of the memories that he had of the experiments.

"This is," Karras said as he tapped into a keyboard. R'yannd'r walked over to him and said, "What are you trying to look up?"

"System readouts of the experiments they conducted on the soldiers," Karras said as he feverishly taped on the computer. As the schematics ran across the screen, Karras read each of the profiles on the soldiers, "This will give us an exact idea of how many soldiers have been through the process."

"How many," R'yannd'r asked, fearing the number. Karras searched through the record database before slowly turning to R'yannd'r and saying, "Five thousand." R'yannd'r nearly fell back standing up as the thought of five thousand soldiers as powerful as himself and Starfire fighting them on the field.

"X'hal almighty," R'yannd'r said as he decided to take a seat for himself, trying to come up with a battle plan after this newfound and disturbing news. Five thousand, he kept telling himself. Meanwhile, Karras suddenly became more crestfallen as he kept reading. "And that's not the worst part," he said.

R'yannd'r looked up and said, "There's more?!"

The Titans and the survivors of the Tamaranian army walked around the smoldering battlefield. Robin and Cyborg looked around at the damage and the massive amounts of bodies lying on the ground. They looked up and saw Raven, still sitting on one of the towers, meditating to herself. Beast Boy was checking up on all of the other soldiers, tending to their every need. Cyborg turned to Robin and said, "What now?"

"We've got to get out of here," Robin said, "This isn't our place to be. Our team's already changing."

"I agree," Cyborg said, "But what about Starfire?"

"She's chosen her battle," Robin said, "And I don't know if we can keep being there for her if it's going to stay like this."

"Like what," Cyborg asked.

"Like how she's being driven by pure rage right now."

"She told you this?"

"No, I just know enough about it to recognize it when I see it. And what's laying in this battlefield right now is the result of what happens when a person lets their anger fuel them." Cyborg looked at the number of dead soldiers and smoldering vehicles that lay all throughout the expansive courtyard. In the distance, they saw Starfire fly out of the doorway and approach them.

Cyborg leaned over to Robin and said, "We should talk to her, let her know about what she's doing, to herself and her people."

"I'll try, but I don't think it will do any good," Robin replied. Starfire landed in front of them and she said, "I thank you all for assisting me in fighting Blackfire's army. I know this may not be the most opportune moment to request a favor from you all, but time is running short and I still need your help if you are willing."

Cyborg looked at Robin as if to imply that he was not interested in any request that Starfire had for him or the team. Robin turned to Starfire and looked at her eyes, but this time saw more panic in them. Robin softened up and said, "What is it?" Cyborg's eyes nearly shot out of his head as he heard this sudden softening to Starfire. Starfire was about to explain when from the background, R'yannd'r called out, "Koriannd'r!" Starfire stopped to have her brother whisper in her ear at that moment, Starfire's eyebrows rose as she turned to him and said, "How strong is she now?"

"She's almost off the charts," R'yannd'r explained, "but Karras may have a way to counter her powers. I'm going back to help him with the stats on the other soldiers, but he wanted me to let you know as soon as possible." R'yannd'r flew back into the Psion lab entrance, leaving Starfire standing on the battlefield in a state of shock and fear. Robin approached her and said, "Starfire, what's going on?"

Starfire slowly turned to Robin and said, "Meet me back at the ship, I need to talk to my brother." Before Starfire could take off, Robin grabbed her foot and brought her back down.

"Starfire, the only stipulation to the Titans sticking around to help you out during your war was that you keep us informed on what's going on. So spill it, now!" Starfire angrily turned to Robin, but saw that he was glaring back at her with an equally angry stare. Starfire was not used to seeing Robin stare at her like that. She landed and said, "Blackfire has two more ion destabalizers. One that she plans to use on Centauri, the next one she plans to use on Earth."

A feeling of nausea overcame Robin and Cyborg as they heard this news. Robin's protector side came out as he said, "What do you need us to do?"

"I need you to do reconnaissance on Blackfire's army on Centauri and keep us informed on their latest moves, but be careful not to be seen. Her army is five thousand strong and they have all been through the Psion process, including my sister."

"I thought she'd already been through," Robin asked.

"She has…she has increased her strength by nearly four times what it was."

To be continued…


	7. Battle Plans

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 7: Battle Plans

"I never meant to cause you trouble,  
And I never meant to do you wrong,  
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble,  
Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm."; Coldplay, "Trouble"

"I don't even see why we're still helping her," Cyborg said as he followed Robin through the dark valley of a mountainous terrain. The dark of night blanketed the land, aiding the young heroes to journey undetected. "She's lost her mind since her planet blew up, now she's got us on whatever planet we're on here, spying on her sister's army, which she thinks she's going to defeat with her army. This isn't our fight, why are we still helping her out?" Robin was ignoring Cyborg the best he could, pushing his own doubts from his mind. Just then, a green coyote came running up to them from the thick of the forest. The green creature morphed back into Beast Boy, who wore an uneasy look on his face. Robin picked up on this and asked, "Did you find them?"

"You need to see for yourself," Beast Boy replied as he turned around and led the two heroes back into the woods. Robin looked up at the branches of the trees above him, looking out to make sure that no one followed him.

The three teens came to the top of a hill and crept towards the ledge. As they peered over, they saw the massive camp of the Uprising's army stationed in a dried out ravine. The ravine was at least the size of Jump City, but the army was so large, it didn't even look big enough to hold them all. Robin let the shock pass as he turned to Beast Boy and said, "You know what to do." Beast Boy nodded his head, turned into a hummingbird and flew into the gigantic camp. He soared into each tent, staying careful so he wouldn't be noticed as he searched for the tent Robin told him to find. Suddenly, Beast Boy made his way into one tent that was larger and better guarded than the others. He fluttered around for a moment before he left the tent and flew towards Robin and Cyborg again.

"Found it," Beast Boy said to Robin as he returned to his human form. "Larger tent in the center right, it has to be their intelligence center." Robin eyed the tent and then turned to the branches and called out, "Are we safe?"

A small black portal opened and Raven hovered to the ground from the tree line. She looked at Robin and said, "We're safe. No one followed us."

"You ready," Robin asked.

"If I have to be," she replied. Even through her normally emotionless facade, Robin could sense a sea of emotions in her eyes: anger, fear, distaste. Under any other normal circumstances, he would have said something to try and comfort her before sending her into danger. Instead, he simply said, "Let's get this over with."

Robin didn't believe in what they were doing either.

The detached hand of Cyborg crawled undetected through Blackfire's massive army, arching one finger up and pointing it around every corner. It stopped at two soldiers approaching an intersection between tents where two soldiers walked towards where the hand was. Back up at the top of the hill, Cyborg switched on his radio and said, "Two soldiers comin' at ya from the north side." The two soldiers walk by the hand as a black portal materialized from the ground, where Robin and Raven have emerged. Robin looked down at the hand as it walked down the path towards the large tent. The finger camera pointed towards the door and noticed four guards at the doorway.

"You've got four guards at the door," Cyborg said to Robin over the radio in his ear, "Two on each side." Robin turned to Raven and said, "Make sure they don't make a noise." Raven's eyes glowed white as four strips of black energy covered the mouths of the four guards. Before they could take notice of what happened, a gas pellet went off around the guards. When the smoke dissipated, Robin stood at the entrance of the doorway. He watched as Cyborg's hand crawled inside the flap of the tent. A few seconds later, Robin heard Cyborg say, "Its all clear." Robin and Raven went inside the tent.

Once inside, the two heroes stared at the inside of the intelligence tent, which seemed to be wallpapered with maps. Robin walked towards a table in front of him, which had a computerized grid on it. Robin turned on his radio and said, "Cyborg, any way we can find any old data on attack strategies?" The hand jumped up onto a keyboard on the table and plugged itself in.

"Alien tech," Cyborg replied, "it might take a while, but I'll upload the info."

Robin looked outside the clear plastic part of the tent that allowed him to see outside. Robin walked towards it to get a better look of the army. As he looked out, he noticed one tent where soldiers were outside, waiting in line to get in. Robin watched the soldiers, who walked out firing massive bolts of fire into the air from their hands. He watched as they started to play around with their new powers: floating in the air and shooting star bolts at each other.

'The Psion process," he said to himself, "She's making an army just like her." as he continued to watch the normal soldiers enter the tent and leave with powers like Starfire or Blackfire.

"Robin, get over here," Raven replied in an urgent tone. Robin rushed over to see her holding a map. When she turned around, she held the map up, revealing Earth.

"Where did you find that," Robin asked. Raven held up a stack of maps written in Tamaranian.

"Some are of Tamaran, others are from Centauri ... and the rest are of Earth. They detail strong military points and map out plans to force through them."

"Their next target is Earth," Robin said in shock as he stared at a spot on the map marked for what Robin could make out in Tamaranian: Ion Destabilizer. Just then, the flaps of the tent are flung open as soldiers stormed in, helping up the attacked soldiers from outside.

"Intruders," they called out. At that moment, Robin pulled out his bo staff and began attack the soldiers as he screamed into his mic, "Cyborg, how much more time you need?"

"Just a sec," Cyborg replied, "Got it! Get out of there." Robin turned to Raven as the detached hand severed its contact with the computer and rocket propelled itself out of the tent and towards the hill. Robin had his hands full with the soldiers when a wall of black energy separated him and the other soldiers and forced them out of the tent.

"Move," Raven called out as she grabbed Robin's hand and led him out of the tent.

They didn't get far as they were surrounded by a large number of soldiers on the ground as well as ones in the air, who have already gone through the Psion process. Their arms glowed purple wit star bolts ready to fire and the sound of hundreds of guns being loaded made Robin break a sweat.

"There's too many to attack," Raven said as she tried to focus her energy, but the large number of soldiers made it hard for her to concentrate. At that moment, a gigantic green dragon dropped from the sky, getting between Robin and Raven and the soldiers. The dragon opened its mouth and let out a tremendous strain of fire at the soldiers. The dragon reared its head towards Robin and Raven, who looked up to see Cyborg on top, firing his sonic cannon at the soldiers. The dragon's head turned into Beast Boy's as he yelled, "Get on!"

Robin and Raven jumped onto his back as its head turned back into the dragon's and took off into the air, leaving the army on the ground. The soldiers that had the power to fly, however, took off after them.

Beast Boy soared through the air as a dragon with his friends on his back. Cyborg turned back and said, "We've got company." Robin and Raven looked back to see at least twenty Uprising soldiers flying towards them and gaining on them. They fired a barrage of star bolts at them, one that hit Beast Boy on his wing, causing them to drop sharply. He quickly regained his balance and soared downwards into the woods with the soldiers hot on his trail. The other Titans looked as they crashed through the branches and soared through the clearing. The soldiers also followed through the trees. Cyborg fired shot after shot from his sonic cannon, hitting one soldier, but the soldier merely shook it off and kept flying.

"Oh, now what is this crap," Cyborg said as he kept firing at the soldiers. The one in the lead made four sharp gestures with his hands and the soldiers broke apart into three groups, two that veered off into the woods and the other, which took off back over the tree line. Robin, Raven and Cyborg all stared around them, looking into the forest for any sign of the army.

"Stay close team," Robin said, "wait for them to make the first move." Beast Boy began to slow down and make for the ground. Robin leaned into his ear and said, "No, stay in the air. I've got a plan." Robin began to whisper the plan in the dragon's spike shaped ear.

Just then, a flurry of star bolts came out of one side of the woods. The three Titans turned to see six Uprising soldiers flying towards them. Cyborg fired at them, breaking their pattern as Raven snapped the branches around them and swung them like clubs at the soldiers, dropping all but two, which flew over their heads and back into the forest. The Titans looked into that side of the forest when Raven got hit from behind with a flurry of star bolts. She screamed and fell backwards down the tail of the dragon. Robin ran after her, but she was already too far down for him to catch.

"Raven," he called out to her, hoping it would help to bring her back. As she began to fall off, the dragon flipped its tail upwards, sending Raven towards her friends. Robin caught Raven as Cyborg fired at the other wave of oncoming soldiers. Robin looked ahead and saw another wave swooping down from the trees.

"Beast Boy," Robin called out, "Now!" The dragon arched his head upwards and fired another stream of fire at the wave of Uprising soldiers. As the soldiers plummeted to the ground, the trees behind them began to catch fire. The hell storm of fire began to engulf the entire forest as the dragon with the Titans surged onward. Soon, the other soldiers came out of their positions to avoid the fire and all gathered, surrounding the dragon. They reached out to try and pull the Titans off of the dragon, but they fought them off. Robin turned to Raven and said, "When I give the signal, I need you to surround us all in an airtight bubble." Raven nodded as the forest gave way to a gigantic lake. The dragon made a giant arch upwards and flew towards the sky with the soldiers still scurrying around them. The dragon made a loop and began to plunge straight down. The Titans all grabbed hold of something so they wouldn't fly off his back. Robin turned to Raven and said, "Get ready."

Raven nodded as the dragon flew closer and closer to the water. Right before they hit the water, Robin yelled, "Now!" Raven formed an airtight bubble around the dragon as it dove into the water. The other soldiers either all crashed into the water or floated around up top. They waited for the heroes to resurface, but they did not. One soldier grabbed his headpiece.

"Uprising scout to Blackfire," he reported, "the spies have not resurfaced. Shall we continue to hold our positions?"

"No," a booming, almost masculine voice commanded, "Return to base. They are no concern of mine now."

From the other side of the lake, the black bubble surfaced and the dragon soared onto the land. The bubble dissipated and the dragon landed on the ground. As the Titans got off of the dragon's back, it reshaped itself into Beast Boy, who was breathing heavily. Robin looked out at the hovering soldiers in the distance fly back into the air and out of sight.

"They're gone," Robin said, "We can rest."

Beast Boy collapse to the ground, struggling to catch his breath. Raven put her hand over Beast Boy's shoulder and said, "Thank you for saving me when I almost fell." Cyborg turned to the exhausted Beast Boy and said, "Yeah, thanks for getting us out of there." Beast Boy smiled, but that went away as he said between gasps, "We've ... gotta ... get the ... plans ... back to ... Starfire." Raven's slight smile went away as she waved her hand over his eyes and said, "Just rest." Beast Boy fell asleep as Cyborg reformed his arm cannon. Spooked, Raven said, "What is it," as Cyborg began pulling out some tools and tightening up the cannon.

"That guy shrugged off my strongest blast," Cyborg said, "I've got to rewire this thing."

"You don't need to make your gun more powerful just to ... " Raven started to say when Cyborg cut her off with, "Look, we're not at home, we're in the middle of some out of control extraterrestrial civil war. I'm not as strong as these people out here, so I've gotta make up for it." Raven backed away from Cyborg and walk towards Robin, who sat on a rock, looking back at the river.

"You okay," Robin asked Raven. "I'll be fine," she replied, "It's the boys I'm worried about."

"Me too," Robin said blankly.

Raven looked at Robin and said, "You feel it too?"

"Don't have to be an empath to know when your team's falling apart." Raven looked at Robin and saw all of the concern that he was trying to mask with his confidence. Yes, she thought, the Titans are starting to fall apart.

Starfire and Ryand'r sat on a bench in the middle of a vast marble hallway. Next to them was a large set of double doors, which they were waiting to enter. "They will not react kindly to this news," Ryand'r said to Starfire, "A civil war from our country that has spilled over onto their doorstep? Even if they believed us telling them that their planet is the next target, what's to stop them from taking us prisoners for warmongering?"

"We must warn them," Starfire said confidently, "I do not want see what happened to Tamaran happen to any other planet. Even if I am to be taken prisoner, at least I will know that I have done everything I could to help them."

"Well, maybe you think going to a Centauri prison is a noble effort, but I, for one, think ... "

At that moment, the double doors swung open and a well-dressed dignitary stepped out to face the two Tamaranians. "Koriannd'r and Ryand'r, the committee will hear from you know." Starfire and her brother stood up and entered a giant room, which was a massive hallway, which led up to a podium that faced a wall of a table, where twelve noble-looking alien creatures in dignified red uniforms sat, facing the podium that the two siblings walked up to. All around them were rows of benches, where observers sat in the shadows, silently watching the two Tamaranians as they came to the podium.

"You may proceed with the matter of the supposed army that is approaching Centauri," one of the dignitaries spoke. Ryand'r leaned over to his sister and said, "Well, at least we know they won't throw us in jail for warmongering." Starfire shrugged off her brother's comment and tried to remember that she was now the Empress.

"Noble Centauri committee members," Starfire began, "I am here to day to reveal a threat to your planet that has already claimed my own home planet. What began as a simple strife among provinces on our planet of Tamaran quickly escalated to the stage of all out war, dividing nation against nation to the point where the need for these nations to justify their own beliefs resulted in the self-destruction of Tamaran. The army was led by the former Empress, Kommand'r, known to those closest to her as Blackfire, who led the war out of spite of being overthrown as empress. Her anger was not calmed with the destruction of Tamar an as our Intel has shown us that this Uprising has other targets after Tamaran. The first planet on the attack list is the planet of Centauri."

Starfire's speech was interrupted by the murmuring of the people in the benches as well as the people behind the tall table. One of the committee members turning to look at Starfire and asked, "What is the proof that you have of these accusations of a rogue army attempting to attack our planet?" Ryand'r pulled out a small device and an even smaller crystal cube. He inserted the cube into the device and a holographic image of battle plans appeared in the airspace between the podium and the table.

"These plans were taken from a reconnaissance team that infiltrated the Uprising's hidden camp on the fourth moon of Drenthax," Starfire began to explain as she pressed a remote's button and the map changed into photos of the army, "as these picture will illustrate the size of the army."

The murmurs continued, but this time, Starfire could sense the fear in the tone of the whispers. The chair-committee member waved his hand over a metal plate, setting off a loud, magnetic hum, calling the room to order.

"This evidence does indeed show that there is a threat to Centauri," one of the committee members said, "However, before we jump to any rash decisions, we have to validate these claims of an approaching army. Bring in the intelligence representative.

Another set of doors flung open from the side of the room as a man began to walk inside, poised, confident and striking. Starfire looked at the man, leaned over to her brother and said, "Now the proceedings will not go so well." She glared at the intelligence representative with complete disdain as he took the stand.

"What news has the intelligence committee to offer about the current conditions of the fourth moon of Drenthax, Representative Val Yor," the chair-committee member said. Val Yor straightened his suit before walking over to the holographic imaging device. He stared at Starfire and her brother before inserting a cube of his own, displaying a moving display of the moon. However, this display only showed an empty ravine.

"Your excellencies," Val Yor explained, "What you are looking at here is current surveillance of the fourth moon of Drenthax. There's no trace of an army, let alone any form of life other than forests. The only known military post nearby was from the Gordanian Fleet Battle some forty five years ago."

"And what of the news of Tamaran being destroyed only three weeks ago," one committee member said. Val Yor began to walk around the room as he spoke, "Yes, our radars have confirmed that Tamaran has been completely annihilated. However, it wasn't due to any war as much as it was from the result of an unstable structure from within the planet. The molecules began to break apart and within a matter of hours, the planet destroyed itself from the inside out."

All eyes focused on Starfire and Ryand'r, who did their best to maintain their composure amidst the humiliation they were experiencing being called liars in a political office. Starfire did her best not to clench her fists, but all of the rage she had from the humiliation she's experienced at the hands of Val Yor was starting to build up.

"So, in your professional opinion, Representative," the chair-committee member said, "Are the claims the Tamaranians made valid enough to merit preparing for war?" Starfire stared at Val Yor, holding back all of her anger as she prepared for the final humiliating statement she knew he would deliver. .

"Fellow committee members," Val Yor began, "The Tamaranians have experienced a terrible tragedy as of late. If anything, they deserve our deepest sympathies at this moment. There's no telling what is going through all of their minds after the devastating loss of their planet. Which might explain why we are all here today, you see, they're looking to find new homes now. I've heard reports from Drenthax, Gordain and even so far as Ilenvier that Tamaranians have over flooded their borders, seeking shelter. There's even been some talk that they've brought a lot of savage ways with them as well, trying to stir up unrest by saying people were following them and were going to kill them if they did not find shelter. In my professional opinion, that's exactly what is going on here. The Tamaranians believe that the little skirmishes they've had on their planet are going to follow them. There is no evidence to support such a threat, so there should be no need to prepare for any kind of attack. If anything, we should be mindful of their plight, but not be taken in by savage thoughts of war and unsettlement."

Starfire watched with baited anticipation as the committee gathered among themselves and began to whisper. Once they sat down, the chair-committee member said, "Your highness, we are deeply sorry for the loss of your planet. We truly are. If there is anything that we can do assist you and your people, do not hesitate to contact us. However, as far as preparations for war go, we do not see any reason to cause any unrest among our people. Whatever disagreements you have on your planet, please let them rest there. If you are looking for a place to stay, our immigration offices will make all the necessary arrangements for the surviving members of your planet."

Starfire clenched her jaw before she took a breath and said, "Your excellencies, thank you for your time." Starfire grabbed the cube and walked out of the chambers. She felt the condescending stares of sympathy from everyone in the chambers as her pace began to quicken as her brother had to speed up his own pace just to follow behind her. She pushed open the gigantic doors open with incredible force and took one look back at the council as they convened into their chambers. Starfire closed the doors on them as she thought to herself, "The fools. They are only digging their own graves."

"That arrogant, Zaldernon Clorbag," Starfire yelled at the top of her lungs as she flew over the gates of the City District of Centauri with her brother. "How can that council of empty heads consider that evidence to be definitive?!"

"Sister," R'yand'r said, "If they do not wish to heed our warnings, then they will be the ones to suffer, not us."

"Blackfire should be the one who is suffering," Starfire said with pure hatred in her eyes, "Her bitterness has cost the lives of millions on Tamaran, now she wishes to end millions More! What will it take to satisfy her lusting of the blood that she has in her?!"

"Your sister will be stopped, Koriannd'," R'yand'r said as he and his sister flew over the Tamaranian base camp below them. The few surviving refugees of Tamaran have all gathered below, living out of makeshift tents and whatever space crafts they took with them as they evacuated. Starfire looked down on the survivors, where were arming themselves, preparing for battle."

"Is this all of the soldiers that we could find," Starfire asked as her and R'yand'r landed in the middle of the camp below them. The few surviving refugees of Tamaran have all gathered below, living out of makeshift tents and whatever space crafts they took with them as they evacuated. Starfire looked down on the survivors, who were arming themselves, preparing for battle."

"This is all of the soldiers that we could find," R'yand'r explained, "In fact, many are not even Tamaranian. We have allies from Ilenviar, some from Terthax 9, all have decided to aid us in our battle with Blackfire's army."

Starfire looked at the Tamaranians preparing for battle. A woman stood in the middle of the field, practicing with her lance as a fire burned in her eyes. She was so consumed by her practice that she did not notice the crying child sitting on the ground next to her. Starfire watched this with heavy eyes.

"I should not have abandoned my planet when I defeated my sister for the crown," Starfire said as she turned away from the child and walked towards a tent. "If I had stayed behind to guide our people, we could have defeated Blackfire again."

"There was no way that you could have known this was going to happen, sister," R'yand'r said as he and his sister entered a large tent, where inside, many officers stood, including Robin and Cyborg.

"I take it the meeting didn't go over well," Robin asked. Starfire looked at everyone, regaining her dignitary façade again and said, "The Centaruians do not wish to listen to our warning about the approaching army. We must make preparations as if we were alone in this battle."

Cyborg and Robin looked at each other in disagreement. Robin took a step forward, "Starfire, we really need to talk about…"

"No time, friend," Starfire said, cutting Robin off, "We must make plans. If you and Cyborg will please excuse us, we must make battle plans."

Robin froze. This girl, who he had come to know as sweet and loving has changed before his very eyes. He stormed out of the tent as Cyborg followed closely. Cyborg walked up to Robin and was about to say something comforting when Robin fired a grappling hook into a nearby tree and pulled himself up. He sat in the tree for a while, as he looked out onto the vast plains that lay in front of him. To his side, an obsidian circle formed on at the tree by Robin as Raven stepped out of it and sat next to Robin.

"I'd like to be alone," Robin said flatly.

"From what I sense," Raven said, "You already are."

"Do you have to keep examining everyone's feelings," Robin snapped, "It's all you've done since we started this damn war."

"I would if everybody would just say what they were feeling, but no one is anymore. Since the battle on Tamaran, we've been changing, but no one wants to say it."

"No arguments here," Robin said, Raven sighed and said, "Do you want to know how I've changed?" Robin shrugged his shoulders as Raven continued, "When we fought on Tamaran, my warrior side came o8ut. The one I hold back whenever we would fight as a team. I fight it because my powers are harder to control when I lose control of my emotions. But you want to know what I'm really fighting with? I fight the part of me that likes letting that side out. On Tamaran, even that fortress on Psion, I couldn't help but feel how much I loved the exhilaration of fighting. If I can't get this under control, then that will become a permanent side of me. I've been fighting it ever since."

"I'm sorry Raven," Robin said, "I should have been watching out for you…"

"You were," Raven said, trying to calm Robin, "I just never told anyone. You see what holding things back can do to people?"

Robin realized what she was saying and thought about what he was holding back. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he said, "This war is getting out of control. At first, I didn't want to be a part of it because I didn't think it was going to be our battle. Now that I know that if Blackfire wins this war, She's going after Earth next."

"The enemies that are the most dangerous are the ones that we let grow stronger before they reach our doorstep," Raven said, fully understanding what Robin was feeling.

"Beast Boy's lost his childishness, you've got issues with your powers, Cyborg's worried that he's becoming obsolete, and Star…" Robin trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say out loud what he truly wanted to say about her. In the background, a tone sounded, calling off the Tamaranians into one area. Standing at the head of them was Starfire, who was making a rallying speech in Tamaranian, firing up the crowd. Robin and Raven watched them from atop the tree.

"She's let you down, hasn't she?"

"No, just he opposite," Robin said, "I'm more proud of her than I've ever been. She's banded the survivors of her planet amidst chaos, she has them organized to fight; she's a very strong leader. I'm only disappointed that revenge is the only reason she's done all of this."

"Vengeance is the quickest way to poison one's soul," Raven said, "If she's not careful, the Starfire we know will be lost forever."

Robin looked back on Starfire, who was finishing up her rallying speech as the army below her thundered in agreement. A Look of concern blanketed Robin's face as she watched the girl he admired turn into a woman he couldn't admire.

"This will not take long, will it," Starfire asked as she lay on the medical table of her escape cruiser. Next to her was the Psion doctor, who was preparing another experiment.

"Shouldn't," the doctor said, "You should be out for a few hours." The doctor flipped a switch and a vat of liquid behind him began to boil. "Now," the doctor said, "your strength will only increase a little. I salvaged what I could from the laboratory wreckage. Seems your sister used all of the strength serum but could care less about the speed serum."

"Will I be as strong as Blackfire," Starfire asked, remembering how hard her sister hit her in the castle throne room.

"No," the doctor replied, "You will be stronger, but not as strong as her. You will be much faster than her, though. And you can use that to your advantage. The serum was designed to work equally. The speed would balance out the strength, throwing their body mass out of proportion."

Starfire took a deep breath and said, "I am ready." The doctor nodded and went behind a control panel and activated a small machine, which moved a small mechanical arm with a syringe towards Starfire's armpit. The syringe bored its way into her arm, causing her to flinch. With a motorized vacuum noise, the syringe pumped the boiling hot liquid into her body. Starfire's eyes began to roll in the back of her head as she tried with all of her might to keep from screaming in pain. The pain was all too familiar, though, as it began to trigger memories from her past again, being given the serum at a young age. Before she passé out, Starfire could only think of one thing: "How did it come to this?"

"Kory, I'm not going to ask you again," Blackfire said, staring at her younger sister, Starfire, who couldn't have been any older than seven.

"Don' not make me sister," Starfire said, "I do not feel right about it." Starfire looked inside a store that was filled with food. There mere sight of food made her stomach growl, but she was having second thoughts about the life she'd been living with Blackfire since they escaped the Psion fortress.

"Kory," Blackfire said as she got down to her sister's level to look her in the eyes, "We're on the run now and we have to find a way to live."

"But father always told us that to take things from someone other than ourselves is wrong," Starfire pleaded.

"Sis, it's our right," Blackfire explained s she looked in the store and saw a guy walk out with a sack full of food. "We are stronger than them so they can't tell us what to do anymore. In fact…" Blackfire didn't finish her sentence before she followed after the guy with the sack of food. Starfire followed after he sister, afraid of what she was going to do. The man walked down a secluded alley before Blackfire Blackfire swooped down in front of him, her eyes glowing purple.

""Silenthia, novres ar sucre dwe abruzian," the man said in a frightened tone. Neither Blackfire Starfire understood what he was saying, since they were both on a planet foreign to them.

"Drop the bag," Blackfire said as she walked slowly towards the man. He clung to the sack as Blackfire grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high into the air. The man gasped for breath, but still held the bag tight. Disgusted, she yanked the bag out of his hands with all of her might and flung him all the way down the alley. The man rolled on the ground in pain. Blackfire walked towards him, her hands burning purple as she formed star bolts in them.

"You'll pay for your arrogance," Blackfire said as she prepared to fire a star bolt. Suddenly, a burst of green fire erupted around Blackfire, causing her to turn around and see her sister standing there, timid, but not backing down.

"Kory, what are you doing," Blackfire asked, confused.

"I will not let you hurt anyone," Starfire said. Blackfire charged at her sister and swung a mighty punch. Starfire ducked and tried to hit her sister in the stomach. No effect. Starfire looked up, frightened as Blackfire looked down at her sister. Starfire tried punching her again and again and what would usually level a wall, had no effect on her sister. Blackfire laughed as she said, "Looks like I'm the stronger one."

Blackfire grabbed her sister by the collar and backhanded her, dropping her to the ground. She then kicked her little sister in the gut, lifting her off the ground and onto the wall. Starfire slid down the wall as Blackfire stood over her, star bolts ready to fire.

"Go back home to mom and dad," Blackfire taunted, "No little sister of mine will tell me what to do." With that, Blackfire shot an immense star bolt at her sister before she took off into the air. As Starfire passed out, she saw the man walk over to the bag that was left on the ground, pick it up, turn to Starfire and say, "Faditre. Faditre, unvo pesqui." As the man ran away, she passed out on the ground.

The older Starfire awoke in her bed on the ship. As her eyes began to focus and search the ship, she noticed Robin was sitting next to her.

"Robin, she said, with a slight warmness," You have been watching over me?"

I Heard about what you had done to yourself," Robin said, "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Starfire sat up and looked around, her body still warm from the liquid that was shot through her "I Feel alright," she said as she began to stand up and walk out of her room. Robin notices her steps were a little clumsy as she ran to her side and said, "Easy, girl, you should be resting."

"No," Starfire said, "I have a battle I must prepare for. There is no time for me to rest." Starfire walked out of the room and towards the ship's exit. Robin followed after her and said, "That's what I was hoping we could talk about. This war, how you've been acting, it's starting to worry me." Starfire froze in her tracks. Robin's words began to worry her as he said, "I am sorry my attitude displeases you, but I must be strong for my people."

"I understand where you're coming from," Robin said, "But you have to understand that you're part of our team also. This whole war has been tearing us apart and I see not that the Titans need each other in order to stay together. Since we've been involved in this war, we're all changing. There are sides of us we never thought would come out and it's tearing us apart."

"What am I to do about it," Starfire spun around and yelled, "I should abandon my people for my friends? This whole war is my doing and I must make it right!"

"This is not a war," Robin screamed back, "This is revenge! This is you wanting revenge on your sister, this is about your people wanting revenge for their planet…"

"Do not even dare to tell me about what this war is about, you could not possibly comprehend…"

"And your friends risked their lives just to get you those plans, have you even thanked them for…"

"I do not have time for pleasantries…"

"What do you have time for?!"

"Nothing," Starfire screamed at the top of her lungs. "I don't have time for my friends, I don't have time for my people, I don't have time for you, and I have no more time left for my parents! All I wanted was a little more time with them and it was taken from me!!" As Starfire realized what she said, she began to break down as she ran out of the ship. Robin followed after her.

Starfire flew to the top of a hill and looked out at what going to be the decided battlefield. The plains on front of the Centauri Gates, known as Blatha Nordan. She turned her head and looked at the other side of the hill, which was a massive military base. She watched the soldiers turn in for the night as she tried to drown out her feelings about her parents. Starfire had kept her feelings about her parents at bay for the past month, but since the argument with Robin brought them back to the surface, she found that she couldn't force them back any more. She looked back on her refugee/army camp as a single tear fell down Starfire's face as she fell to her knees, fighting back the sobs. Robin ran up to her.

"Starfire, I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't want to argue with you."

"We are going to lose," Starfire said. "Centauri is unprepared, our soldiers are outnumbered and my friends are falling apart. Soon, no one will stand in my sister's way of ending the lives of countless of other families."

Robin walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't mean we won't fight them, though." Starfire held onto Robin's hand as she looked up at the sky and noticed a green speck getting larger. Starfire stood up to get a better look at the speck as it became a green dot. Robin soon noticed what was capturing Starfire's attention as he looked up at the dot, which was getting larger.

"Should we alert our team," Starfire asked. Robin was about to agree when he looked at the sphere closer and smiled, "No, but we should prepare a welcoming party." Robin waved his hands in the air as the sphere came towards him and Starfire. As the sphere landed and dissipated, the figures of The Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman stood in front of the two teen heroes.

"We heard that you were in need of some assistance," Green Lantern said. Wonder Woman looked at Robin and said, "Batman wishes you the best of luck in your struggles."

"He sent you here," Robin askewd, almost in disbelief.

"Said you guys were in major need of reinforcements," The Flash said, "So he sent the A-list of the Justice League to help."

"He didn't say those exact words," Green Lantern said, "Just to send the available Justice League members to prevent a war from reaching earth's soil."

Wonder Woman walked up to Starfire and held out her hand, "We come to offer our allegiance to your army." Starfire enthusiastically shook it. Robin smiled as he turned to Starfire and said, "I think the odds are slightly in our favor now."

To Be Continued…


	8. An Empress and a Titan

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darian Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 8: An Empress and a Titan

"It wasn't my intention to mislead you

It never should have been this way

What can I say.

It's true I did extend the invitation  
I never knew how long you'd stay  
When you hear temptation call  
It's your heart that takes, takes a fall." – Martika; "Toy Soldiers"

It was still nighttime at the Preetanchay Military Base, the only military outpost outside of Centauri's main city entrance. All of the soldiers were inside sleeping except for the few soldiers assigned to stay awake and patrol the grounds for intruders. Two mobile units inside the base and four guards at the entrance post. It was at the entrance post that the guards heard a rumbling, causing them to look up from their games they were playing to keep themselves awake. They peered through their vision enhancers but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

They turned back to their games and as they did they heard the sound of a powerful wind over their heads, all soldiers looked up and took their arms. One soldier began to reach for his radio, but before he could, a purple energy blast hit him and dropped him to the ground. The other soldiers turned around to see a larger than average Uprising soldier looking inside, no weapons, but his left hand was smoking. Before the Centauri soldiers could react, the Uprising soldier lifted his hand and fired three shots, killing all three of the soldiers. He stepped outside and waved his arm as seven other large Uprising soldiers fly over his head and into the base. The other soldier flew into the air to join the formation.

A mobile hover unit rounded the corner of a hanger and nearly ran into one of the Uprising soldiers, standing in the road right in front of them. The Centauri soldier in the passenger seat stood up and said, "What do you…" Before he had the chance to finish, two other Uprising soldiers took a side of the mobile unit and flew it up high into the air. They carried the hover unit with ease as they flew it away from the base and simply dropped it. The soldiers were about to scream for their lives when they looked in front of them and noticed that an entire army of Uprising soldiers was standing in wait in front of them, armed with gunships, hover tanks and a barrage of motorized cannons. The last thought that went through both of the soldiers' minds before they collided with the ground was that this was the beginning of an invasion.

The second mobile unit was making its way down the alley of the gunnery bunkers. Unbeknownst to the driver, the Uprising soldiers were gathered at the roofs of the bunkers, stalking the hovercraft as it moved through the narrow alley. It was about to pull out of the alley and into the street, where two more Uprising soldiers were lying in wait to carry off the mobile unit in the same manner, when a spotlight made its round in the distance and silhouetted one of the waiting soldiers. As the driver saw the shadow of the soldier cast on the ground, he slammed on the brakes, bringing the craft to a halt.

Silently, the driver gestured for his passenger to search the area. The soldier made his way to the wall and as he turned his head to look around, a green ball of fire encased him, burning him to death within an instant. The two Uprising soldiers came out of their hiding space and began to advance on the driver. The driver took cover behind his hover unit, grabbed his side arm and the radio and called into the receiver, "This is Mobile Unit 2 outside the gunnery bunkers. We are being invaded; repeat we are being inva…" He was cut off as one of the Uprising soldiers from the roof swooped down and slammed his head into the hover vehicle, killing him.

The alarm sounded all throughout the base, waking every soldier and sending every vehicle into action. But before any of the soldiers could prepare themselves, the massive wall of the Uprising army began to advance on them from over the hill in front of the main gate. The soldiers reacted in horror as they could see the army greatly outnumbered the amount of soldiers at the base. As they stood in awe of the approaching army, a squadron of gunships flew over their heads and began to bomb the base. The soldiers ran in a mad dash around the base, trying to find a commanding officer or a weapon station to man.

Finally, a cadet named Rylan stopped his bunkmates from going outside. Instead, he formed a plan that the pilots would report to the hangers, the gunnery cadets would make for the outposts and he would lead the soldiers to the gunnery bunker. The three groups split up and Rylan led his bunkmates through the chaos outside towards the bunker, where they ducked out of sight as they saw two of the larger Uprising soldiers standing guard by the door. As people were approaching, they were firing green star bolts from their hands, killing the approaching soldiers.

At that moment, they were being buzzed by a single gunship, approaching them and firing. As they ran out from behind their posts, the giant uprising soldiers saw them and were about to fire on them when a burst of laser fire came from the outpost, causing the ship to explode and careen towards the two Uprising soldiers standing guard. They couldn't react fast enough to duck out of the way as the flaming wreckage slammed into both of them and through the door. Rylan looked up and saw that his bunkmates made it to the outposts safely and were firing on the approaching gunships. Rylan signaled for his friends to follow him into the gunnery as all of the Centauri soldiers ran towards the bunker, dodging a hell storm of laser fire and star bolts from above.

As the morning sun rose, Starfire watched the carnage from a distant field with painful eyes. R'yannd'r approached her from behind and asked, "Sister, why do you not give the command to send our soldiers to aid them?" Starfire let out a heavy sigh and said, "We were ordered by the Centauri government not to interfere in their business. If we were to engage in this battle, we would be seen as the aggressors and would have to stand trial for war mongering. I can not allow prison or exile to be the home for our people."

R'yannd'r walked closer to Starfire, placed his hand on her shoulder and said, "Your army is awaiting your orders, whatever they may be. We will stand behind you."

Starfire looked out at the blaze of laser fire erupting from the military base as she said, "When their army is closing in on the city, then we shall make our move." She looked out as explosions erupted from the base. In the distance, the sound of the young men screaming pierced through Starfire's ears. Her eyes grew somber as she said with a sorrow in her voice, "Yet, I can not allow innocent lives to be lost."

Starfire turned to R'yannd'r with a severe look and said, "Ask Robin and Green Lantern if they wish to make a move to aid the soldiers." R'yannd'r looked at Starfire and smiled as he saluted her and said, "It will be done, your highness."

The Uprising's army crushed the front gates of the Preetanchay Base as it began to fire at the remaining soldiers, hunkered down behind the smoldering remains of their base vehicles. The army had them completely surrounded into one area. Rylan looked at the faces of the remaining soldiers as he saw the fear they had in their eyes for their lives. He signaled for all of them to join him as he banded them together to prepare for the final charge against the Uprising. Almost suddenly, they stood up at once and began charging the Uprising's front line. As the Uprising prepared to fire on them, a gigantic green wall came between them and the Centauri soldiers. Then suddenly, a red streak came by and began rushing the soldiers out of the fields one by one as Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern came down from the sky and began battling with the Uprising. Rylan stood alone in surprise as The Flash came by, picked him up and ran him out of the field.

"Put me down," Rylan screamed, "We never abandon our posts!"

"That's very brave of you," The Flash replied, "But I think your post's been changed."

Rylan looked forward in confusion as he saw a battle line forming in front of the Centauri palace walls. The Flash put Rylan down in front of his surviving bunkmates, who ran up to him and thanked him for saving their lives. Meanwhile, The Flash turned as he heard one of the towers on the base collapsing. He ran back into the battle as Rylan was approached by Val Yor, dressed in full army uniform.

"Cadet," Val Yor said, "Give me a status report."

"Sir," Rylan replied, "We're the only survivors of Preetanchay Base. The army attacked us while we were asleep. They looked like they were Tamaranian."

Val Yor froze in his tracks as he leaned down over Rylan and replied, "Did you see a skinny girl with red hair with them?"

"No, sir," Rylan replied as Val Yor looked back at the carnage. In the back of his mind, he remembered that Starfire was warning him about an attack that was approaching.

"She's part of this," Val Yor said to himself as he turned to the massive line of soldiers and war vehicles behind him. "Take no Tamaranians as prisoners," he shouted to the army at his command, "Forward!" With that, the massive Centauri army advanced to meet the Uprising Army on the Xurdasdian Field. The field that lay between Preetanchay Base and The capital of Centauri.

"They're still breaking through," Wonder Woman screamed as she lifted an Uprising Tank over her head and noticed that other waves were sneaking in by the side. She hurled the tank at the wave, smashing two others, but at least fifteen others rolled by. The Green Lantern was busy taking care of the soldiers, dismantling their weapons while shielding himself from the seemingly endless barrage of laser fire aimed at him.

"I could use some back up here," Green Lantern called out as two soldiers took aim at him through a side he left unguarded. Suddenly, a blue laser cannon fire took out the two guards. Green Lantern turned his head to see Robin leading the Teen Titans into battle.

"Teen Titans, Go!" Robin screamed as they rushed the battlefield. Raven flew up into the air to fight with the gunships while Beast Boy turned into a green Minotaur and stormed the field, carrying the barrel of one of the tanks. Cyborg ran up to Green Lantern and stood by his back.

"Gotcha covered," Cyborg said as he fired away at the thousands of soldiers.

In the background, the green Minotaur swung the gun barrel at all of the tanks and soldiers, leaving a trail of destruction in his path. One Uprising soldier adjusted his weapon and unleashed a stream of fire onto the barrel the Minotaur was holding, causing it to heat up and subsequently, the Minotaur dropped the barrel. He transformed back into Beast Boy, who stared at the army with an unwavering look of seriousness as be became a gigantic scorpion and began to swing his spiked tail and pinchers at the soldiers, who backed up in terror. Raven, meanwhile, joined the fight, but only hesitantly. She didn't throw herself into the front lines as much as she did try to keep a balance from the side.

Not that she was afraid; she just didn't want to lose control again.

As valiantly as the heroes were fighting, they were still being backed up to the city. Suddenly, they cleared the base and were standing in the Xurdasdian Fields. As the heroes were backed out into the open, they heard the sound of a distant cannon firing, taking out one of the Uprising Tanks. They turned to see the Centauri army, standing their post at their gates and marching into the field. The Titans and the Justice League stood their ground and continued fighting as they Centauri army and the Uprising Army clashed on the field.

As the noon sun rose over the battlefield, guns blazed, vehicles were destroyed and soldiers fought to their last breath as the Centauri army struggled to keep the invaders away from their city. Both armies were fighting at a standstill until the sky filled with hundreds of the Uprising soldiers that were given the Psion serum. They fired down upon the Centauri army in an enormous hail of fire from above.

The enhanced Uprising soldiers began to swoop down on the Centauri army, destroying their vehicles and breaking their line of soldiers. Soon, the Centauri army couldn't make a move without having the soldiers destroy them from above. Robin walked up to the Green Lantern and said, "I think we should deal with these soldiers."

Green Lantern nodded and the heroes focused their attention on the flying army of soldiers.

The Titans and the Justice League were in the skies, fighting with the super- soldiers while the Centauri army continued the battle on the ground. With the super-soldiers busy in the air, the Centauri army was able to mobilize their forces more, allowing them to cover more ground.

Starfire stood on the hill and watched the battle unfold on the hill. She paced nervously as she moved forward many times to want to aid her friends, but every time she did, she stopped and looked behind her. As much as she wanted to be a Titan again and join her friends, she had a responsibility as an Empress to lead her army into battle. Again, R'yannd'r approached her and sat next to the troubled teen.

"I know you wish you were down there with your friends," R'yannd'r said.

"They followed me from the beginning," Starfire mused, "They left their home and stuck by my side, though they did not agree with my actions. They are truly my friends and I can not help them because I have to lead my people."

"Which is also a noble thing, sister," R'yannd'r replied.

"How is revenge noble," Starfire said, turning to her brother, "I have been thinking all day. After we have avenged Tamaran, what then? Will our friends and family return? Will we have a home afterwards? Will we have made new enemies? I can not help but think that I rushed into this battle too quickly because of the loss of my parents."

R'yannd'r stood up, looked at Starfire and said, "Kory, we are fighting today not for ourselves, but to make sure that this planet does not end up like Tamaran. Nor your new home, Earth."

"I know," Starfire said as she looked at her feet, "I meant to say that I am worried that it is I who feel consumed by revenge now. All my thoughts are now focused on fighting my sister. I would look at people and nature and see the potential for good that they have in it. Now everything that I care for means nothing to me now because I can only think of destroying Blackfire."

R'yannd'r walked over and put his arm around Starfire to hug her as they continued to watch the battle.

"I am afraid of what this war is doing to me," Starfire's voice quivered.

The gunships on the battlefield made another pass as Val Yor found himself wide open and in the gunship's line of fire. Robin saw this danger and used his grappling hook to pull himself onto the gunship. Once on board, he rode it like a surfboard until he found the engine. Robin made his way over there and placed a small charge on the engine. He dove off as the gunship erupted in a cataclysm of flames. Robin landed at the feet of Val Yor, who turned to Robin and said, "Thanks, Spike. Good to be fighting by your side again."

Robin glared at Val Yor as he turned to jump on top of one of the swooping super soldiers. The Green Lantern flew by as Robin kicked the super-soldier off of him.

"I take it you and he met before," Green Lantern said.

"Sad to say," Robin said as he jumped at another super-soldier.

Cyborg was firing his sonic cannon from the ground at the super-soldiers while Green Lantern and Wonder Woman were fighting them in midair. The Flash was using the tanks to give him a launch pad to jump into the air and fight the soldiers while Beast Boy was fighting as many as he could in the air in his dragon form. Meanwhile, Raven was trying to fight off just one at a time, when one came up from behind and held her arms while another soldier punched at her. Raven was able to get her shield up to deflect as many punches as she could, but one connected right on her jaw and sent her careening towards the ground.

"Don't lose it," Raven told herself as she got to her feet, "You need to keep it together right now." As soon as Raven stood up the two soldiers fired their star bolts at her, knocking her back down to the ground. Raven's fist began to ball up as the super-soldiers landed and walked up to her. They looked at her as her cape began to turn green. Suddenly, a trail of black obsidian shot out form her hands and knocked the two soldiers off of their feet. Raven turned around and faced the soldiers.

"You boys ready to meet a real soldier," Raven asked as they tried to get back to their feet, Raven lifted her hands up as the ground crumpled around them, encasing the two soldiers in a ball of earth. As Raven tightened her fist, the spheres grew tighter, which she then tossed across the battlefield. She turned her head to the sky and noticed that there were still many super-soldiers left in the air. A slight smile crept across her face as she took off into the air. She fired razor sharp bolts of focused energy from her palms at each of the soldiers. In fact, the other heroes had to duck out of her way just to avoid getting hit.

"Raven, watch out," Robin screamed. Raven wasn't listening; she was too busy fighting all of the Uprising super-soldiers on her own. As she would tear apart machines from the ground, both the Uprising's and the Centauri army's, she would hurl them at the flying soldiers. One piece of debris even hit Wonder Woman, knocking her to the ground. Robin saw this and caught her before she fell, but she was so strong that she knocked the boy wonder to the ground. She got up and helped Robin to his feet as she said, "Thanks, you're as quick as your mentor."

Robin couldn't help but blush from this compliment, but his attention was quickly drawn to the red streak The Flash was leaving through the sky, trying to deflect everything that Raven was using as a weapon in the air and on the ground. Cyborg looked up at her from the ground and thought to himself, "She's losing it. She's gonna take out both sides if she's not careful." Cyborg closed his eyes and aimed his sonic cannon at Raven.

"Sorry, girl."

With that, Cyborg fired a single shot, hitting Raven in the back and dropping her to the ground. The Flash ran up underneath the teenage girl and caught her. Her cape turned back to blue as she regained consciousness.

"What happened," Raven said as The Flash was running her to the sideline of the battlefield.

"You went a little war wacky," he said to her. They both turned back and looked at the armies at war. The Centauri army was visibly being forced back towards their city walls. Raven stood up and looked at the war with heartbroken eyes.

"There's no stopping them, is there," Raven said as she turned to the Flash. Before he could say anything, he turned to look behind him, then turned back to Raven and said, "If you want to be a hero, you shouldn't give up hope that easily."

He directed Raven's attention to the top of the hill, where Starfire stood, full battle armor and wielding a bizarrely shaped sword. She stared at the battlefield and then looked down at Raven as the two girls exchanged smiles. Starfire then looked at the battlefield and raised her sword. As she did, a massive row of soldiers appeared behind her in a line.

"Riale Tamaran! Hesnarde varenti!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she swung the sword forward. As she did, the army behind her screamed and charged towards the battlefield. Raven and The Flash watched the army storm past them and into the line of fire.

Val Yor was trying to regroup his already damaged army when he turned his head and saw that Starfire was charging towards them with another army. He cried out, "Brace yourselves, men, here comes another wave!" As his frightened soldiers took to their arms, they prepared for the worst, but Starfire's army instead crashed into the Uprising's as they fought ferociously on the field. Val Yor's army turned and faced him. Not knowing what to say, he simply spouted, "On your feet. Protect Centauri."

The battle raged on throughout the day. As one wave tired on both sides, they fell back for another to take over. They were at a standstill just outside the front gates. Starfire watched the battle, when she suddenly thought to herself, "If this is the whole army, then where is my sister?" Starfire searched the battlefield frantically, but could not find Blackfire anywhere. As the sun began to set, Starfire flew towards the heroes battling the super-soldiers and signaled for Robin and the Titans to follow her. Robin looked at his exhausted team, who were looking to Robin for some sign of relief. The wave of soldiers was seemingly endless. He turned to Wonder Woman and asked, "You three okay here for a while?"

Wonder Woman struggled with two soldiers trying to hold her down as she said, "Just fine, don't take too long."

Robin nodded, then turned to his team and yelled, "Titans, fall back and regroup!" With that, the Titans distanced themselves from the fight and followed Starfire through the vicious battling as the Tamaranians, the Uprising and the Centaurians all continued to fight exhaustively. The Centaurians refused to give up any ground, but the Uprising kept pushing them back. The Titans did their best not to step on any of the numerous fallen bodies on the ground, which seemed to go on for miles until they finally reached the Tamaranian base camp on the Centauri wall.

"We should be back out there, helping them," Beast Boy pleaded as he watched the soldiers setting up posts as nighttime blanketed the field. Raven, who had collapsed on the ground, trying to catch her breath and find her center again, turned to Beast Boy, trying to pick up on his emotions. All she could sense in him was a sense of obligation that he had to fight.

"Are you that eager to throw your life away," Raven asked, bringing everyone's attention to Beast Boy, who turned to face the crowd of expectant eyes.

"I'm eager to end this," Beast Boy said as he turned back to watch the battle rage on. Starfire walked up to her friends and said, "Friends, I have brought you here to ask another favor of you."

The four Titans looked up at her, not believing that she was asking for another favor. Each of them felt like they had been pushed to the limit the past month of this trip and at any moment, one of them was going to snap.

"You can't be serious," Cyborg said as he continued to weld the damaged parts of his mechanical body, "We've done enough favors for you, we've been drafted into this war and now you expect us to do you another favor."

Starfire's eyes looked down on the ground. Even though she was trying to approach them as an empress, what Cyborg said still hurt her as a friend.

"I know that I have asked a lot from you and believe me, I am truly grateful for everything that you have done for me. But what I ask now is dire. Please listen to me. I can not leave this battlefield, but I have not seen Blackfire anywhere on this field. I am beginning to believe that this battle was a diversion in the way that the attack on the Citadel in Tamaran was a diversion."

Robin stepped up and said, "Your Intel didn't say anything about this battle being a distraction. What makes you so sure?"

"Because I know my sister," Starfire said, "And she would put the lives of others in jeopardy to get her way. Think about it, when you were at the camp, did you not see the ion destabalizer?"

Robin thought back and realized that he did. Starfire looked at her friends, "You do not all have to go, but I think that some of you should check the perimeter for any traces of the device before it can be activated." She turned to Robin and said, "They are your team, you should ask who wants to go."

Robin turned to his team and said, "Who's up for it?"  
Cyborg turned his welder off and stood up, "I've got the scanner that could find it. I'll go."

"Great," Robin said, "Anyone else?"

Beast Boy's eyes were transfixed on the battlefield. Raven looked at him and then turned back to Robin, "I don't think you'll be able to pull Beast Boy away, so I'll go with Cyborg."

"I'll take Beast Boy and head back to the field," Robin said, "You two, circle around, see if you can find any traces of the destabalizer." Raven and Cyborg walked out of the tent as Beast Boy began to head towards the explosions. Robin shortly followed, but before he left the tent, he turned to look back at Starfire, who was sitting down, obviously upset. Robin was about to leave her, but he walked back to her and asked, "You okay?"

Starfire blinked her eyes and said, "I am…fine."

Robin looked at her, knowing that she was lying to him. "You sure," he asked again.

Starfire nodded as Robin slowly turned around and walked out of the tent. Starfire turned around and tried to fight back the tears as he mind was flooded with thoughts as to how she was an awful friend. "I, too, want this war to be over, but I fear that my friends will no longer look at me the same way again."

Val Yor stared at the battlefield from his bunker as the night sky was lit up by the fires on the ground and the laser fire erupting throughout the field. As he turned his head, he noticed Raven and Cyborg walking alongside the wall away from the battle. He turned to Rylan and said, "I'm going to follow up on something, take my place until I return." With that, he followed Raven and Cyborg as they disappeared into the night.

On a hill, far away from the battle, a lone figure stood watching the war as it unfolded. The person was quite massive, much too large to be normal. An Uprising soldier approached the figure and said, "Blackfire, it is ready."

Blackfire turned to face the soldier and then looked up as the ion destabalizer began to whir and beep as it armed itself. Not long after, a powerful beam shot through the destabalizer's cannon and began to boar its way towards the core of the planet. As Blackfire watched this process, a sick smile crossed her face. Her plan was almost complete.

To Be Continued…


	9. Mortal Heroes

Nothing Lasts Forever

By:

Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Chapter 9: Mortal Heroes

"Words like violence  
Break the silence  
Come crashing in  
Into my little world  
Painful to me  
Pierce right through me  
Can't you understand  
Oh my little girl." – Depeche Mode; Enjoy the Silence

Starfire stood outside of her outpost, watching the battle carry on below her as the sounds of explosions, laser fire and screaming echoed through her ears. The war had already gone on for two days by this point and Starfire was beginning to feel the strain as the reports of the numbers of soldiers being lost kept pouring in as well as reports that the protective line her army and the Centaurian army have formed kept getting pushed back further towards the city.

"I do not know how I should be feeling," Starfire thought to herself, "On the one hand, we are fighting to save a planet and at the same time bring justice to the millions of Tamaranians who lost their lives by the unmerited attack by this Uprising army. It should be a just battle."

More screaming from the field below as Starfire looked to see the entire field has become a giant crater. No more life grew on the once fertile and beautiful field, just overturned earth below the soldiers' feet as they fought to find protection and shelter behind downed gunships or inside craters. Starfire's heart sank.

"Yet," Starfire thought, "I can not help but feel heartbreak for all the lives that were needlessly lost over matters that could simply be discussed."

She looked even closer and saw that all of the super soldiers, the JLA and her friends the Teen Titans, were no longer battling in the air, they were fighting on the ground.

"And my friends, they are risking their lives for this cause as well. A part of me wishes I was down their fighting by their side as a hero once again instead of the leader who marched hundreds to their death. I spent my life trying to protect the lives of innocents. Have I violated my own morals? Am I still a hero? I want to be one again, yet my loyalty to my people obliges me to remain here."

She watched the battle continue as more explosions went off all around the field. A rage was building up inside of her.

"All I want is my sister," she thought as she tightened her fist in anticipation of meeting her face to face, "She is the cause of all of this. It is her who formed this 'Uprising' and marched them against Galfore and Tamaran. I wish only to fight with her. Maybe then, I can go back to being a Titan again. Maybe I can get closer to Robin again."

The thought of Robin made her feel even more isolated because she had never told him her true feelings for him, but now, they seem unimportant since Starfire felt they have grown further and further apart since the war.

"I need him. I just want him to tell me that I am still his friend and that I…have not changed."

She thought of when she first met Robin, how filled with rage she was and how violent she was around him, hurling cars, destroying streets, attacking people. Yet he approached her with such peace and sincerity that she had never known.

"Am I that person again," Starfire feared, "Have I become the Gordanian war prize again, the creature who harbors nothing but anger and vengeance? I know that it is in me. I hope that it has not returned. I was happier when I was on earth."

Starfire looked at the smoke filled sky of Centauri and tried to look as far into the sky as she could.

"I just want to go home."

The Tamaranian and Centaurian armies were switching out their forces, giving relief to the soldiers who have been holding the lines for going on thirteen hours straight. On the field behind the skirmish, the Titans and the JLA were feeling the strain of the two day war already. The number of super soldiers seemed endless and even now, the five heroes were facing their twelfth wave of soldiers that kept coming one after the other. They still fought, though, covering each others' backs as they soldiers kept coming in. As another wave was defeated, Beast Boy exhausted changed back into his regular form and noticed that there were still more super soldiers over the horizon, waiting. Beast Boy turned to Wonder Woman and asked, "Why don't they just attack us all at once?"

"We still pose a threat to them," Wonder Woman replied between exhausted breaths, "We took out their first wave so easily that they feel they can defeat us if they come at us in waves." Beast Boy looked back at the group of heroes. The Flash was sitting down, trying to catch his breath while Green Lantern was putting his head between his knees. Beast Boy looked over and saw Raven collapsed on the ground, breathing sharply. He rushed over to her and helped her up.

"Rae," he called out, "Oh, God, not you. Say something. Anything."

Raven blinked her eyes open, "Something. Anything."

Beast Boy managed a half smile before he asked her, "I didn't interrupt your meditation, did I?"

Raven stood up and replied, "No, just trying to get some rest before they attack us again." Raven spun her head around to Beast Boy and asked, "Would you make me laugh?"

Beast Boy looked at her confused and said, "What do you mean?"

"I need to know my friends are still the same," Raven said, "I need something to keep fighting for."

Beast Boy said, "I don't know what to do."

Raven exhaustedly turned her head towards the ground as Beast Boy laid her down. He then stood in front of her and turned into a chimpanzee, after which, he proceeded to do back flips in the air, but the last time, he turned into a pot-bellied pig and landed flat on his stomach. Raven cracked a small smile.

"Thanks," she said to Beast Boy as she looked up at the sound of wind rushing towards them. Raven and Beast Boy stood up and next to Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash as they saw the next wave of super soldiers flying in towards them.

"You kids ready for another round," Green Lantern asked.

Raven's eyes glowed black in response as she levitated off of the ground. The group of heroes charged at the oncoming hoard of super soldiers.

Behind them, a loud explosion was heard as a Centaurian battleship came crashing down from the sky and into an armory, resulting in a tremendous explosion that tore a hold in the holding line. Tamaranian and Centaurian soldiers scrambled to cover the gap, but as they did, the Uprising took advantage of their opponents chaos to charge at the line, forcing them to pull back right onto the gates of Centauri.

R'yannd'r ran into Starfire's tent and said, "Empress, the Uprising has forced both armies against the city's walls. There is nowhere else for them to fall back to. It's like a firing squad out there."

Starfire rushed outside to see the massacre as she turned to R'yannd'r and said, "Take our last wave of soldiers; send them into the lines so they can help the troops out there to fall back into the city."

"Koriannd'r," R'yannd'r objected, "That means we've fallen back to our last hope position. If they break through the city wall, we will be done for."

"We must regroup," Starfire said, "You have your orders. Find the cadet the soldiers follow."

"Rylan," R'yannd'r replied.

"Tell him we are meeting inside the city walls to devise a final attack plan. If we are to win this war, we will have to take the offensive."

"It will be done," R'yannd'r said as he saluted her and left the tent. Starfire watched as he rallied the last of the Tamaranian soldiers and marched them along the edge of the city as they relieved the already exhausted Tamaranian and Centaurian soldiers.

"X'hal," Starfire prayed, "Tell me what must be done."

Robin and Cyborg walked along the Centauri wall as Cyborg followed his sensors, which were beginning to get a stronger signal.

"I think we're getting close," Cyborg said as Robin turned his head behind him and quickly jumped into a nearby tree line. Cyborg watched Robin confused, "Okay, what was that all about?"

Suddenly, there was a loud rustling in the foliage behind him. Cyborg armed his sonic cannon and prepared to fire, when Robin came crashing through, tackling Val Yor to the ground. Robin stood over top Val Yor, grabbed him by the collar and said, "Wanna explain why you've been following us?"

"You're trying to find the device that your Tamaranian friend was talking about, aren't you," Val Yor said, "I want to find it too."

Robin glared at Val Yor and then got off of him as Val Yor stood up.

"Listen, Spike," Val Yor started to say, "I know we didn't leave on the best note, but I have a planet to defend now."

"And I bet you're just ecstatic that it's a Tamaranian army you're fighting," Cyborg said with an obvious disdain in his tone.

"These Troqs…er, Tamaranians," Val Yor explained, remembering one of the Titans' friends was a Tamaranian, "They've decided to continue their civil war on our soil."

"No, they're trying to make sure that what happened to their planet doesn't happen to yours," Robin explained, "That's why we're here?"

"Well, where is it," Val Yor asked when Robin shushed him and ordered everyone do duck as he peered on top of a hill as he sees a small reddish light emanating from a clearing on top. Cyborg aimed his scanner at the top of the hill, which made it beep like crazy.

"That's gotta be it," Cyborg said.

"Cyborg, Val Yor, follow me," Robin said as he began his trek up the hill, staying low so that they would not be seen.

Starfire flew inside the Centaurian walls, where the surviving Tamaranian and Centaurian soldiers sat, recovering from their long skirmish while the outside wall was being pounded by massive explosions and fire power. Rylan looked up at Starfire and asked, "They're breaking in, aren't they?"

Starfire looked at Rylan and nodded, "Soon, they will break through these walls and then nobody inside will be safe."

Rylan stood up in front of Starfire and said, "Your brother said you wanted to see me."

Starfire looked around the city for any kind of material that could be used as weapons. Suddenly, her eyes became transfixed on a piece of machinery. She smiled and said, "Yes, I do have a plan, but it will require someone to make a suicide run."

Rylan replied without hesitation, "We're ready to do whatever you ask."

"Good," Starfire replied, "Then take your army and have them re-gather at the towers on top of the wall. Wait for my signal and then use those seismic charges on the army outside after their fire's been drawn."

"And who will be the one to draw their fire," Rylan asked.

Starfire replied, "I will."

As Cyborg, Robin and Val Yor reached the top of the hill, they saw a small armada huddled around the ion destabalizer, which was drilling into the earth with a powerful laser. Val Yor was about to rush in when Robin held him down.

"No," Robin ordered Val Yor, "We've got to devise a plan first."

"Plan nothing," Val Yor growled, "It's only a few Troqs. I can handle them."

With that Val Yor flew up into the air and attacked the armada, punching and throwing them around. Cyborg turned to Robin and asked, "So, what is your plan?"

Robin looked up at the mess Val Yor was leaving and said, "I'll join him and draw their attention away from the machine. You disarm it."

"I've never dealt with Tamaranian technology," Cyborg said, "What if I can't do anything?"

"You can do it, Cyborg," Robin said with conviction.

"Robin, if I can't figure out their tech, then…" Cyborg paused as he looked at Robin.

"Cyborg, what is it," Robin asked as he sat back down in front of him.

"After getting thrashed on Tamaran by those soldiers," Cyborg said, "I don't know if I'm made to deal with this kind of enemy."

"You've handled all kinds of enemies before, why are they any different," Robin asked.

"Because I've never felt like I wasn't strong enough before," Cyborg said. "I don't like feeling weak." Cyborg began to look at his feet.

"Cyborg, I'm putting my trust in you, which means I know you can do it," Robin said as he put his hand on Cyborg's shoulder. Cyborg looked up at Robin.

"You have the strength, Cyborg; don't be afraid to use it."

Cyborg shut his eyes and then opened them with a look of pure determination. Robin smiled as he said, "You wanna give me a boost?"

Cyborg put his hand out, which Robin put his foot in, then Cyborg lifted his arm up fast, launching Robin high into the air and directly into Val Yor's skirmish with the Uprising soldiers. Robin began leading them away from the machine as Cyborg charges at the ion destabalizer, dispatching the few guards in his way and going to work on the computer display.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy, Raven, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern were tiring from fighting their last wave of soldiers. The Flash collapsed on the ground, almost hyperventilating. Raven rushed over to him and placed her hands on his chest. As her eyes glowed, The Flash's breathing became steadier as he stood up. Suddenly, Raven got dizzy and began to fall, but The Flash grabbed her.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," The Flash said as Raven's head began to sway back and forth.

"Hey," The Flash said to Raven, "don't give up just yet. We've only got an unknown amount of super powered soldiers to go and then we get to fight a whole army on our own."

Raven looked up at The Flash and said, "Not exactly painting the most hopeful of pictures here."

"This is pointless," Green Lantern said, "We can't keep going on like this."

"Agreed," Wonder Woman said, "We'll have to find some way of taking the fight to the soldiers before they send their next wave."

"Beast Boy," Green Lantern called out to the exhausted green boy, "Is there anyway you can burrow underground and find out where they are."  
Beast Boy quickly morphed into a groundhog and began digging when Green Lantern called out, "I wasn't finished." The green groundhog stopped digging, turned back into Beast Boy and faced Green Lantern.

"Once you've found the army, don't try to fight them all on your own, just find some way of signaling us to let us know where their base is."

Beast Boy looked behind him and noticed that the next wave was approaching the heroes.

"You guys gonna be okay without me," Beast Boy asked, hoping that they would ask him to stay behind. Instead, Wonder Woman said, "We'll be fine." With that, she charged towards the wave of super soldiers, followed by The Flash and Raven. Green Lantern looked at Beast Boy and said, "Go, now!"

Beast Boy became a groundhog again and continued to dig as the heroes kept fighting.

Starfire stood in front of the huge double doors of the Centauri gates as the explosions began to shake rocks loose from the wall. She wasn't wearing any armor, nor was she carrying any weapons. She simply stood in her battle uniform and watched as the Centauri soldiers snuck up to the towers, carrying the seismic charges.

Another explosion pounded the wall, shaking the entire structure.

Starfire took a deep breath as she looked and saw the Tamaranian soldiers crouched behind their posts behind her, waiting for her signal. She held out her hand as a massive star bolt began to form in her hands. Her eyes began to burn green as lasers began to form inside.

Another explosion pounded the wall, this time, shaking the very ground Starfire stood on.

She turned to the gate guard and yelled, "Open the gates!"

The guards pulled the lever, drawing back the massive doors as Starfire looked outside and saw thousands of Uprising soldiers in front of her. They all took notice of her standing in front of them and aimed their weapons. Before they could fire and before the doors could open any more, she fired a powerful laser beam from her eyes, knocking all those in her path out of the way as she flew outside the gate, firing star bolt after star bolt on the army as she flew over their heads. The Uprising fired shot after shot at her as she flew to the rear of the army, drawing their fire away. Starfire fired one star bolt straight into the air.

As she did, the Centauri guards threw their seismic charges into the Uprising army. Suddenly, there was a loud eruption from the ground as it sank inwards, causing the soldiers to fall into the craters left behind by the seismic discharges. Starfire turned to her army back inside the gates and yelled, "Hesnarde varenti!"

With that, the hidden Tamaranian soldiers behind the gate rose up and charged the stunned survivors of the Uprising army.

Suddenly, the battle seemed winnable.

Cyborg had the panel yanked open when the drilling noise stopped and a new charge sounded from the inside of the destabalizer. Cyborg struggled to work faster when Robin and Val Yor suddenly came back into sight as they tried to fight off the declining number of the armada, which were charging towards Cyborg.

"Come on, you piece of junk," Cyborg yelled as he pulled out a gigantic tube, causing the destabalizer's beam to dissipate. Cyborg smiled when suddenly, the destabalizer began to shake violently as beams began to shoot out from the machine. Cyborg jumped off of the device and began to run down the hill yelling, "I wouldn't stick around here if I were you!"

Suddenly, the armada, Robin and Val Yor changed their direction and followed Cyborg down the hill. The humming grew louder and louder until a cracking noise was heard and a tremendous red explosion followed, encasing the top of the hill. Robin, Cyborg and Val Yor turned around as the explosion fizzled. They smiled as they turned to see that they were being chased by the twelve armada soldiers. The three heroes turned to fight them as they quickly dispatched the soldiers. One tried to run into the woods as Val Yor stared him down and said, "Cowardly Troq." With that, he flew into the woods after him. Cyborg was about to chase after them when Robin pulled him back and said, "Let him go, that's his fight."

With that, Robin ran back towards the battlefield as Cyborg followed him.

From a valley behind the battlefield, a gigantic explosion propelled numerous super soldiers into the air as a green cheetah ran back towards the heroes' fight. Raven and Wonder Woman turned towards the explosion and then towards each other as they smiled. Wonder Woman turned back to the Flash and Green Lantern and yelled, "Move towards the explosion."

They all ran towards the direction of the explosion. As they reached the site of the explosion, they came across a crater scattered with the bodies of the soldiers as a green Spinosaurus stood over all of them. Raven and the JLA looked at him as he morphed back into his old form.

"What," Beast Boy said almost innocently, "I just made the signal too big, that's all."

They all managed an exhausted short laugh as they turned back to look at the ongoing battle. The five heroes looked on as Wonder Woman said, "Everybody feel rested?"

They all nodded.

"You up for finishing this war off," Wonder Woman asked.

"With pleasure," Raven said. With that, the five heroes stormed across the battlefield towards the skirmish.

Val Yor searched the woods for the escaped soldier. When he did find him, the soldier's body was a crumpled and bloody mess at his feet. As Val Yor looked around, he was struck from behind by a gigantic purple energy mass. He let out a small grunt through his teeth as he stood up to see a woman standing in front of him, but she was built larger than he was.

"He got off lucky," the voice said, "Compared to what I am going to do to you."

"Are you the Troq behind this," Val Yor screamed, fists balled up.

"That will be the last time you ever use that word," the voice said as the woman lunged at him with incredible speed, knocking him off of his feet. Val Yor punched at her head and stomach, but after five punches, he pulled his fist back in pain

"It's like punching a wall," Val Yor thought to himself as the woman punched his face in with such incredible force. Val Yor struggled to get up, but instead, the woman grabbed him by his throat and yanked him up into the air, squeezing his throat and then tossing him across the forest, knocking him into a tree. Val Yor stood up as a gigantic boot swung across his face, knocking him back to the ground. He got on his hands and knees, trying to lift himself up, but she hammered his back with both fists, driving him into the ground. As he lay on the ground, she grabbed him by the back of the neck, dragged him up and began hitting him in the face. Blood flew from his jaw and the parts of his face that were being opened up.

"Who is this woman," Val Yor asked himself.

Back on the battlefield, the Centauri and the Tamaranian army were able to surround the Uprising's army with the help of the Titans and the JLA. The Uprising army held their weapons over their heads and surrendered. With that, a tremendous cheer rose up from the Tamaranians and Centaurians as they marched the army towards the wall with their hands over their heads. From across the field, Raven and Beast Boy saw Robin and Cyborg rounding the corner of the city as they started exhaustingly walking towards each other. Starfire turned her head from watching the soldiers to see her friends embracing each other on the field, relieved to see that everyone survived. Starfire was about to walk over to her friends when a thought crossed her mind:

"Where is Blackfire?"

Her question was answered when a loud sound of air rushing went over her head and a figure landed on the other side of the battlefield. Starfire looked up to see her sister, Blackfire, standing right in front of her. Yet, she looked nothing like the Blackfire she remembered. She was much larger than she used to be, even larger than Galfor was. Despite her changed appearance, Starfire could still recognize her sister. Blackfire didn't come alone though, she held the bloody and weakened body of Val Yor at her feet with one hand as he struggled to breath. Blackfire lifted Val Yor over her head and twisted her wrists, snapping Val Yor's spine and then dropping his lifeless body to the ground. Starfire gasped at the brutality of her sister.

"Don't look so shocked, sister dear," Blackfire taunted, "He had it coming."

Starfire shook the fear from her and remembered her desire to avenge the wrongs that her sister caused.

"I will not allow your hands to shed any more blood, sister," Starfire yelled.

"Then let's finish this," Blackfire taunted.

"Agreed," Starfire replied as she flew towards her sister.

"Oh, but I'm not finished," Blackfire continued, "This won't be like challenging me for the crown. What do you say we up the stakes?"

"What did you have in mind," Starfire asked, not sure if she was ready for what she was going to ask for.

"To the death," Blackfire replied, "No interference from our friends or army. Just you and me until the other is dead."

To Be Continued…


	10. A Matter Between Sisters

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Part 10: A Matter Between Sisters

"When the socket's not a shock enough

You little child, what makes you think you're tough?

When all the people you think you're above

They all know what's the matter." – Elliott Smith, "Speed Trials"

No one could describe how eerie the hush that filled the battlefield as Starfire and Blackfire stood facing each other. Both sides didn't dare move a muscle because they knew that this war could come to an end with the fate these sisters held. Not even the Justice League or her friends the Teen Titans moved because they knew what everybody else knew, that this fight was between the both of them and any interference would only prolong and deepen the war's bloodshed. Silence. Silence on a battlefield can be even more chilling than the actual war itself, but neither sister broke their gaze at each other. Starfire and Blackfire just stared coldly at each other. Starfire was still in awe as to the size of Blackfire after taking the Psion's serum. Blackfire was now twice her size in both height and size. Blackfire was always bigger than her, but never by this proportion. Soon, Starfire's eyes softened for a moment as she remembered their childhood and hoped for a reconciliation between them. Starfire yelled across the field to Blackfire, "Sister, I beg you to put an end to all of this."

Blackfire merely laughed and said, "Things really don't change, do they? Even when we were growing up, you were always trying to stop me from doing what I wanted."

"I was trying to stop you from hurting others," Starfire yelled.

"If that's what you call it."

"I did not want us to get into trouble."

"You mean you were trying to tell me what to do."

This made Starfire's blood boil. For years, it was her sister bossing her around, now she was trying to turn the tables on her. "You always told me to come with you, to follow you through dangerous cities, to start fights with complete strangers. You were always telling me the wrong things to do."

"And you enjoyed every minute of it, didn't you?" Blackfire said with an almost seductive evilness to her tone.

"No, I did not," Starfire spit back, "Once I saw that our fun hurt others, I could not do those things any more."

"Ever daddy's little girl," Blackfire yelled, "always trying to do the right thing when you know full well you and I share the same spirit."

"Silence," Starfire yelled. Blackfire was getting to her. "I am nothing like you!" Starfire's eyes grew cold again as she knew there was no reconciling with her.

"Sure you are," Blackfire instigated, "we're both sisters and that sense of pride runs deep within us both. You had banished me from so many places, had me banished from Tamaran, thrown in jail in Centauri, you even made me an outlaw on Earth. Every place I ever knew, I was no longer welcome. What do you think that would do to my sense of pride?"

"So, you wish to fight with me, then," Starfire said with conviction, ignoring her sister's new strength.

"Please, little sister," Blackfire said dismissingly, "you wouldn't last five minutes against me."

"Why don't you find out what kind of surprises I have up my sleeve," Starfire said, balling her hands into fists.

"Your funeral, sister."

"One condition," Starfire said.

"What? You want a condition?"  
"Just one," Starfire said, "if you lose, your army surrenders to mine."

"Very well," Blackfire said confidently, "but this fight this fight will still be to the death."

Starfire stammered at this request, but she quickly recovered and replied, "Agreed."

In the audience behind them, The Flash leaned over to Wonder Woman and said, "You just knew it was going to come to that." The Justice League and the Teen Titans were all watching with baited breath as Blackfire threw an underhanded star bolt directly at Starfire. Out of the corner of her eye, Starfire caught the treacherous attack and in a split second, dodged the bolt by flying directly up in the air and threw a starbolt of her own that Blackfire didn't even see coming. It impacted on her head, causing her to take a few steps back and blink as to what happened. She looked up and saw her sister hovering in mid air, tossing starbolt after starbolt in a hellacious barrage that Blackfire, who was astonished at the speed of her sister. Blackfire looked up and fired a gigantic blast from her laser eyes that Starfire dodged, but Blackfire kept on her, chasing her across the sky with them.

Starfire maneuvered left and right to get away from the eye beams from her sister, but she didn't see the purple starbolt that blasted her in the chest. The impact was so powerful that it caused her to plummet to the ground. Before Starfire hit the ground, she looked up to see her sister flying towards her in a violent rage. Starfire did a mid air summersault over her sister and planted both of her feet into her back, driving the giantess into the ground. Starfire pulled back and charged up a powerful starbolt with both hands when Blackfire quickly turned around, grabbed Starfire by her ankle and yanked her to the ground. Starfire landed with such force that all the wind in her was temporarily knocked out. Blackfire then pulled her sister up by her long red hair and raised her fist back, ready to strike her. Starfire looked over and everything went slow, giving her enough time to react to what she saw. Starfire blasted her arm with her eye beams to prevent the punch. As Blackfire's arm recoiled, Starfire unleashed a flurry of jabs and crosses to Blackfire's head. Blackfire looked unharmed by Starfire's punches.

"My punches are not fazing her," Starfire thought to herself, "but I've got to keep my speed up before she can get a hold of me."

Starfire lifted her hand up and let a small starbolt flash in her hands, blinding Blackfire. Blackfire began to swing wildly. Starfire dodged and ducked each of them with tremendous speed. Still, Starfire could feel the force wind over her head, making her realize how she doesn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her powerful punches. Starfire was getting a good rhythm going, Blackfire would swing wildly, giving Starfire enough time to let loose three good hits. Starfire even began kicking the mid section of Blackfire. Blackfire doubled over.

Starfire smiled, thinking that she had her sister. Then Blackfire quickly looked up and tossed purple starbolt after purple starbolt, hitting Starfire, who recoiled in pain as the heat of her sister's attack began to burn her.

"Even her starbolts have become more powerful," she thought as she flew back up in the air to avoid any more pain. Blackfire looked up at her sister, who looked ready for anything. Blackfire popped her shoulder back into place and looked up at Starfire. Starfire's eyes went wide as she realized that for as much as she just let loose on Blackfire, it didn't hurt her one bit. Blackfire laughed.

"Oh, little sis," Blackfire cackled, "you're smart to avoid me. But there's now way you can hurt me."

Starfire balled her fists as Blackfire's arrogance was beginning to anger her.

"O-o-o, looks like I hit a nerve. Why? Was that the best you had," Blackfire said, curling her index finger towards herself, taunting Starfire to return to her. Starfire charged at Blackfire with tremendous speed. Blackfire planted her right foot behind her as Starfire approached her. As Starfire pulled her arm back, ready to punch, Blackfire's foot came shooting up at blinding speed and connecting with Starfire's face. Starfire's head cocked back as the impact made her temporarily lose her center of gravity.

Blackfire grabbed her sister by her collar and gave her a powerful uppercut to Starfire's chin that lifted her off of her feet and sent her crashing to the ground. Blackfire jumped up in the air and landed with both feet square on Starfire's chest. Starfire grabbed her ribs and began to cough for air. As Starfire crawled to her hands and knees, she coughed again and spit something up on the ground. Her eyes focused on what it was and saw a small pool of blood that came from her mouth. She ran her palm against her mouth and looked at the blood that was coming out of her mouth. Starfire's eyes looked upwards as Blackfire's boots stood in front of her and pulled her back up to her feet.

Blow after blow that Blackfire delivered to Starfire began to make her head swim. Soon, Starfire began to see spots in her eyes that made it hard to see anything. Starfire swaggered on the field as Blackfire aimed for her sister, spun around and connected with a powerful spin kick that nearly took Starfire's head clean off of her shoulders. Starfire sailed across the battlefield and landed on her back.

"I have got to catch my breath," Starfire thought, "I can't keep this up." As Starfire looked up, she saw a purple streak fly towards her and pick her up off of the ground with remarkable strength and wrapped her arms around her. Starfire's arms were pinned as Blackfire began to squeeze what life Starfire had left in her.

"I can feel the life escape you, little Starfire," Blackfire taunted. Starfire struggled to break free, but the more she did, the tighter Blackfire squeezed. Starfire groaned in pain as she began to feel her already sore ribs begin to buckle under the strain.

"I told you," Blackfire said, "you wouldn't last five minutes against me." Starfire shook as she began to muster up her strength. She looked her sister in the eyes and said, "Then why do we not just go into overtime!"

With that, Starfire let loose a powerful blast from her eye beams into Blackfire's eyes, blinding her and causing her to let Starfire go. Blackfire rubbed her eyes and swung blindly at nothing. When Blackfire's eyes focused, Starfire was nowhere to be seen. Blackfire screamed out of frustration and took off flying into the air.

Blackfire glided through a heavy forest terrain, looking behind each and every tree. From higher up, Starfire looked down at her sister as she tried to catch her breath and regroup her energy. Every time she inhaled, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. "She's too strong, now," Starfire thought to herself, "She has used too much of the Psion serum for me to match her in strength." Starfire tore part of her cape to tie a tourniquet around her arm as she took in another deep breath. As she did, the pain in her chest returned.

"Control it," Starfire thought, "use the pain you feel to your advantage. Fight her with the pain you feel and do anything to keep from feeling any more. The more pain you feel, the more you know that you're still alive."

Starfire took in a few more sharp, deep breaths to psych herself up. Her eyes squinted as she traced Blackfire's path through the tree line. She no longer saw Blackfire as her sister anymore. Blackfire had now become prey for Starfire. For her planet, for Tamaran's survivors, for Earth, for her friends, for her brother… and for her parents, Starfire let these thoughts release the anger inside her to get ready to fight her sister. Starfire's eyes looked further down the field as she saw a Centauri army-training course about a mile ahead. Starfire studied the terrain before she looked to the left as she saw a thick branch nearby that she severed from the tree with her laser eyes and grabbed it as it fell. She raised it back like a baseball bat, took another deep breath and jumped off of the branch at her sister.

C-R-A-C-K!!! The branch came down heavily on Blackfire's head, knocking her to the ground. Blackfire got to her hands and knees and looked up as the giant branch came down on her head again, knocking her back to the ground. Starfire landed on the ground and swung the branch again like a golf club, connecting directly with Blackfire's chin, lifting her up off of the ground and towards the obstacle course.

"Keep her disoriented," Starfire thought, "if she can't get to her feet, then she can't fight back."

Blackfire was balancing herself on a tree and was almost to her feet when she looked to her right to see Starfire charging full force with the branch cocked back, ready to strike again. Blackfire tightened her grip around the tree and snapped it off at the base. Blackfire quickly swung at Starfire and connected, knocking the branch out of her hands and sending her soaring into the obstacle course. Blackfire took off after her sister.

Starfire got to her feet quickly and caught her sister trying to charge at her. She smiled as she saw Blackfire get closer. Blackfire charged her hands with a powerful amount of starbolt energy before Starfire leapt upwards. Blackfire looked up and saw Starfire grab a nearby pull-up bar and swing herself onto the obstacle wall. Starfire stood on the top and wrapped her foot around one of the climbing ropes. Blackfire took off after Starfire, who snapped the rope from its base and began to fly circles around her sister, wrapping her up in the rope. Blackfire struggled as she was tied up in the heavy rope, which was being held by Starfire. Starfire garnered a sly smile as she dangled her sister helplessly.

"Ready for a ride, sis," Starfire said as she swung Blackfire into the obstacle wall, putting a hole in it. Starfire still held on and spun Blackfire around in a quick circle. Blackfire's eyes began to roll as the g-forces from Starfire's speed began to disorient and sicken her to her stomach. When Starfire finally stopped, she flew through the treeline, swinging her into tree after tree. Starfire then swung the rope over her head and launched Blackfire directly into the ground. Blackfire's head spun so much, she didn't notice Starfire coming straight at her like a spear, driving her sister three feet into the solid ground.

Starfire crawled out of the hole and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. But before she could react, a giant purple blast came from the ground that fried Starfire's back. Starfire turned around to see Blackfire, still tied up, rise out of the hole and snap the ropes. Starfire looked closer and saw that Blackfire was bleeding from the side of her mouth and was grabbing her right shoulder. Blackfire stared daggers into Starfire as she said flatly, "That hurt."

Blackfire then reached down and grabbed Starfire by her head and drove it into the nearby base of a swing platform. Blackfire stood up on the platform, grabbed the swinging rope, snapped it from its base and began to swing it over her head. Starfire got to her feet, but only to have Blackfire swing the rope like a whip at Starfire's chest. The giant knot connected and made Starfire double over. Blackfire began to whip Starfire's exposed back with the rope. Starfire fell to the ground as her sister continued to beat her mercilessly. Blackfire swung again, but this time, Starfire caught the rope and pulled Blackfire off of the platform and into the pool of water underneath. Starfire flew into the branches again. Seconds later, Blackfire emerged from the pool and looked around for Starfire, who was nowhere to be seen. Blackfire crawled onto the ground and got to her feet. Blackfire was breathing heavily. She was obviously hurt as she took a few minutes to regather herself before she took off after her sister.

Starfire was hidden in a nearby brush pile, completely covered by greenery. Starfire was retightening the tourniquet around her arm as she gritted her teeth out of pain. Starfire's head was swimming back and forth as she put her hand on her back, which she couldn't feel any cloth from her uniform, but her bare skin, which was now cut from the rope and burned by starbolts. Starfire lay her head back on the ground as she tried to regroup when a voice broke out from outside.

"Hiding again, sister," Blackfire called out, "I'm sure Tamaran would love to see that their leader is hiding from her opponent."

"Do not go out there," Starfire told herself, "She is only trying to fight you in your weakened state."

"I can't believe the people of Tamaran actually turned to you to save them. You can't even defeat me, what makes you think that you can save your planet?"

"It is a lie," Starfire thought, "I can beat her."

"I must congratulate you, though, you lasted longer than I thought you would have. I figured I would have broken and destroyed you so much earlier. Maybe that violent side of yours that you fought so long to keep buried is finally coming out. You know, that side that you let out when you and I would sneak out of the castle and start fights with the commoners. Ooo, you were bloodthirsty then."

"You brought that out in me," Starfire snarled inside her mind, "If I have that side, it is because I just wanted my sister to love me. I only did those things because I thought we would be friends."

"Not anymore, though." Blackfire turned her head at the sound of hundreds of people crunching through the forest. "You hear that, Starfire," Blackfire called out, "they want to see the rest of this fight, are you going to disappoint them by hiding?"

"Just keep talking," Starfire said, "I'm only getting angrier and stronger as you do."

"I hope you do come out soon so I can finish you, you traitor. We could have had so much fun together, Starfire. Stealing from other planets, no one would have been able to stop us, but you chose to stay and be raised by that weakling Galfor."

"Do not go there," Starfire said, "you will only make me more angry."

"Maybe it was for the best that he died, so when I defeat you, I can lead the rest of Tamaran to victory by crushing this planet, then moving on to your precious Earth. We'll destroy their heroes, all except your friends."

Starfire shook with anger. Her heart began to pump wildly as more blood came out of her wounds. The sound of the armies getting closer could be heard.

"I'll use your friend Cyborg as spare parts for my armies, but keep the rest of him alive to see how his mechanical body is being put to better use. The weak green thing, oh, he'll be thrown into the animal cages where he'll fight for our amusement. That witch friend of yours, she'll be my personal mystic. I'll have her brainwashed to serve me and tell me the future so I can rule more of this pathetic galaxy. Then, what to do with your precious Robin? He is very cute though and if I am going to be the leader of the galaxy, then I doubt it would hurt to have my own personal man servant around to…"

"Blackfire!!" Starfire yelled at the top of her lungs as she leapt out of the bushes and speared her sister out of the forest. Just as they left the forest, the armies came through to see them leave the forest clearing.

"Jeez, can't these girls stay in one place," The Flash said as he ran towards the forest clearing, closely followed by the Titans, the Justice League and the thousands of other soldiers struggling to keep up with the heroes.

Starfire was using all of her strength to keep her sister in the air before Blackfire brought down both of her fists like a sledgehammer on her back. Starfire crashed onto the solid concrete ground of an airplane hanger. She quickly rolled away as Blackfire planted her foot into the concrete where Starfire laid. Starfire threw starbolt after starbolt at her sister, blinding her. Before Blackfire could see, Starfire began swinging wild punches that knocked her head from side to side. Starfire kept punching as she saw her sister's face bruise up and start to bleed.

"Keep it up," Starfire said, "you're finally breaking through her." Blackfire threw a wild jab, which Starfire ducked and kneed Blackfire in the ribs. Blackfire threw another jab and Starfire did the same thing. She began working on Blackfire's midsection, trying to keep her from getting her breath. Starfire threw a left hook at Blackfire's head, but Blackfire caught her sister's hand and began to squeeze. Starfire swung another punch at Blackfire's ribs, but she caught that one as well and began to squeeze.

The army broke through the clearing to see Starfire and Blackfire locked in a test of strength, which Blackfire seemed to be winning as she pushed Starfire closer to the ground.

"Looks like you're running out of energy, little sister," Blackfire said.

"I…will not…let…you win," Starfire struggled to say as Blackfire pushed her closer and closer to the ground. Soon, Starfire was down on one knee, trying to hold her sister up.

"Doesn't look like you'll be winning after all," Blackfire said as she brought her leg back and kicked Starfire directly in the gut. Starfire started to fall, but Blackfire kept her up by her hands. Blackfire began to deliver a series of powerful kicks to Starfire's already sore ribs. Starfire began to sway as the pain in her sides began to pulsate loudly and make her ears ring. Starfire looked directly at her sister and fired a blast from her laser eyes at her head, but Blackfire countered with an eye blast of her own. Soon, the duel laser blasts were even fighting for supremacy as the two sisters' hands were still joined in their test of strength.

"Got more strength in you than thought," Blackfire said, "but it still isn't enough." With that, Blackfire let her hands glow purple with starbolt energy. The heat from her sister's hands made Starfire scream in pain as the laser blast in her eyes weakened and Blackfire's blast hit her square in the face. Starfire flew back into the airplane hanger behind her.

Starfire grabbed on to the wing of a nearby plane to pull herself up as she was having a hard time standing on her own. Starfire got to feet in enough time to see her sister flying directly at her. Starfire ripped the wing of the plane off near her and clocked her sister right in the face with it. Blackfire dropped to the ground as Starfire began to club her sister wildly with the plane's wing. Blackfire struggled to get up, but Starfire was all over her, hitting her in the face, the neck, the back, the arm, everything that Blackfire was using to get up. Finally, Starfire let the wing drop as she tried to catch her breath. Blackfire was on the ground in a heap as Starfire struggled to breath. The pain in her ribs was excruciating, as she feared that her ribs might be broken.

"You still got it," Blackfire said with a mouth full of blood, "that bloodthirsty side _is_ still in you, isn't it?"

"You always…brought the best…out in me… sister," Starfire said between breaths.

"Now, I'll just take it out of you," Blackfire said as she swept her sister's feet out from under her. Starfire fell onto the ground as Blackfire crawled on top of her and began to choke her.

"Having a hard time breathing," Blackfire said, "here, let me help."

Starfire hit Blackfire with a powerful bolt from her laser eyes that sent her flying back onto a plane, which collapsed under the weight of the gigantic Blackfire. As the plane fell, the weapons underneath its wing struck the ground and detonated, exploding around Blackfire. Starfire put her arm to her face as the flames swept over her. Once the flames died down, Starfire looked back to see Blackfire charging at Starfire. Starfire jumped up with blinding speed as Blackfire crashed against the wall. The building shook as the flames began to spread throughout the hanger. Starfire pinned Blackfire against the wall and began to work her midsection again with a flurry of super-quick punches. Blackfire shook off the pain and grabbed her sister by the arm and swung her into the walls, repeatedly, making the structure shake again. Soon, a loud bending sound was heard as the roof began to cave in.

From outside, the armies saw the hanger, already encompassed in flames, crumble into a heap until there was nothing left standing. Where the hanger once stood, a pile of rubble now replaced it. Robin ran towards the flaming debris, screaming, "Starfire!" The Titans stood in shock, as they wondered if their friend survived. Soon, something began to move from the inside of the rubble. The armies stood back, waiting to see the victor as Starfire emerged, her clothes burnt and torn, her body battered and her face bloodied, but she stood tall as she crawled out from the debris. Robin began to walk towards her as another stir came from the rubble. Before Starfire could react, a powerful fist connected with her back, making her scream out in pain. Blackfire stood up and began pounding away on her sister.

Starfire was so weakened by the fight that she couldn't even put up a defense as Blackfire pounded her mercilessly. Starfire struggled to stand up, let alone, raise her fists in defense as Blackfire hit her with a straight jab that made everything slow down for Starfire as she saw the blood fly from her mouth. Before she could turn her head around, she was hit hard again in the gut that made her double over.

"Do not fall," she told herself as Blackfire continued to punch away at her, "do not allow yourself to fall. No matter what, do not go down, do not let…"

Blackfire spun around and kicked Starfire in the head, which almost seem to take it clear off of her shoulders. Starfire went limp and crashed onto the debris of the hanger.

"NOOO!!!" Robin screamed from the field as Blackfire picked her sister up and held her high over her head as she looked at the army.

"The fight is over and Tamaran must now surrender! As my first act as your ruler, I will break her in half right in front of you!"

To Be Concluded…


	11. The Spoils of War

Nothing Lasts Forever

By: Darien Ravier

Part I: The Fading of the Lavender Crown

Part 11: The Spoils of War

"Just lay your head back on the ground

and let your hair fall all around me

offer up your best defense

but this is the end

this is the end of the innocence." – Don Henley, "The End of Innocence"

Ringing. That was all Starfire could hear as she faded back into consciousness. Her eyes weren't strong enough to open yet, so she used her senses to bring herself back. The next thing she noticed was that she wasn't lying on the ground like people who normally are unconscious, nor was she standing. She was being held by something that was holding her upside down off of the ground. Soreness is the next thing she felt coursing all over her body, like she had been fighting. Yes, the fight with Blackfire, she must have been knocked out. As the ringing in her ears began to fade, she heard something else very faint, almost like screaming. Many different voices screaming, and someone was screaming her name in a distance.

Robin.

"Okay," she thought, "time to try and open your eyes." One eye wouldn't open. "It must be swelling shut," she thought, "open the right one." Starfire slowly blinked her right eye open and saw only the sky. As her senses grew stronger, she felt two hands, one on her back and one on her rear, keeping her levitated in the air. Blackfire was holding her triumphantly over her head.

"The fight is over," Blackfire screamed in a sick jubilance, "now I will finish off Tamaran's last champion."

"Kommand'r, you sick devil," R'yannd'r screamed, "if you kill our sister, I will avenger her!"

"You'll do no such thing," Blackfire taunted as she dropped Starfire hard onto the ground, "If she couldn't stand up to me, you will fall twice as easily."

Starfire began to stir as she tried to move, but before she could make a big move, Blackfire grabbed her by her torn collar and pulled her face to face with her. Starfire closed her eye.

"Now, little sister," Blackfire snarled, "our rivalry will end."

Blackfire pulled her fist back and was charging a deadly starbolt when Starfire opened her eye and let loose a powerful blast that knocked Blackfire off of her feet. As Blackfire started to get to her feet, Starfire quickly flew towards her and delivered a powerful jab to Blackfire's chin, which made her head jerk back quickly. Starfire used her newfound gift of speed to let loose a flurry of punches to Blackfire.

Blow after blow, Blackfire's face began to crack open and bleed more. Soon, Blackfire had no energy to hold her own body weight up. Starfire picked her up and did a backwards somersault that launched Blackfire across the battlefield. Midair, Starfire unleashed a barrage of starbolts and laser blasts from her eyes that propelled Blackfire even further across the field. Finally, Blackfire landed hard against a Centauri tank and as she slid to the ground, a giant dent was left in the tank's side. Blackfire lay on the ground, struggling to breath. She was about to fade out when, out of nowhere, Starfire's two small hands, burning with green fire, picked her back up, delivered repeated knees to Blackfire's ribs, then head butted Blackfire square on the bridge of her nose. Blackfire began to fall again, but Starfire picked her back up and began punching her in the face with her fists glowing green with star bolts.

From across the field, the Titans watched their teammate beat her sister mercilessly.

"Dude, she's finally lost it," Beast Boy said.

"Don't do it," Robin said to himself. He saw the look in her eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking about doing. The memories of holding his parents' murderer in his hands began to rush through his memories again. Robin watched the fight more intently than ever, no longer hoping Starfire would defeat Blackfire, but hoping she'd defeat her own anger.

Blackfire was no longer putting up any form of defense as Starfire's punches began to take their toll on the once seemingly undefeatable giant. Starfire grabbed Blackfire by her neck and pulled her arm back, ready to deliver the final blow. As she did, the familiar screams came back as her army began to cheer her on. Chants of "Do it," and "Avenge Tamaran" filled the battlefield. Starfire looked around to see her army standing triumphantly over the prisoners of the Uprising's army. They were pumping their fists in the air as they screamed for the blood of the leader that destroyed their home planet. Everyone, that was, except for her teammates and the Justice League, who were merely staring at her and waiting to see her next move.

Starfire stared at Robin, whose eyes she could tell were judging her from behind his mask.

"Don't do it, Star," she heard Robin say.

"I have to, Robin," Starfire exhaustedly pleaded, "Tamaran must be avenged."

"It has been, now let it go."

"No, as long as she lives, you, I, no one will be safe from her evil."

"And if you kill her, you will become as heartless as her. Don't go down that path, Star, you're too good of a person to just kill someone."

"Go ahead," Blackfire said, "you know it's in you. That part of you that's just like me."

"Shut up," Starfire said, pulling Blackfire closer to her, "I am nothing like you."

Blackfire opened her mouth and spit blood on Starfire, as she laughed, "Then you won't kill me, little sister. You can't go through with it."

Starfire tightened her grip around Blackfire's neck saying, "You would be amazed what I am capable of if I am pushed."

"You can't do what it takes to protect Tamaran," Blackfire wheezed, "that's why you left that weakling Galfor in charge."

"Shut up!" Starfire spit at Blackfire.

"Starfire," Robin still pleaded, "just let her go."

"Let me end this fight and it will be over."

"No, it won't. I fight it everyday, Starfire, that side that justifies murder and that's one fight you don't want for yourself."

Starfire shut her eyes as the debate raged in her head. A hush fell over the field again. That silence that only grows colder on a battlefield.

"I was going to kill you," Blackfire said, "when I held you over my head, it would have just taken a quick squeeze of your neck. But you're not going to do it. It's not in you to kill in cold blood. That's why we'll always be enemies. Just let me go and we can play this game again, sister."

Starfire opened her one good eye with a vicious scowl and screamed as she pulled her hand back and let loose a palm strike on Blackfire's nose that made her gasp sharply, then went silent as she fell to the ground in a heap. A cold wind blowing across the field was the only noise that was heard at that point. Then the silence was broken by the victory cry of thousands of soldiers that were relieved that their battle was finally over.

Starfire looked at every soldier as they cried out in joy, she even saw the improbably sight of Tamaranians hugging Centaurians on the field. Starfire smiled weakly as she finally let the pain from her wounds take over. As her head began to swim, she looked at her friends, whose jaws were all on the floor, except for Robin, who merely shook his head and began to turn away. Starfire tried to take a step towards him, but the pain overtook her and she collapsed. Before she could hit the floor, The Flash ran over and caught her.

"Hey, easy girl," he said soothingly, "it's over. Just rest now."

The Flash picked her up as she passed out in his arms. Wonder Woman walked up to them and said, "Hand her to me."

"It's okay, I got this one," The Flash said.

"She fought bravely on the field," Wonder Woman said, "I would be honored to carry her to the infirmary. Please, what she did was worthy of praise from any Amazon."

The Flash handed Starfire over to Wonder Woman, who turned around to see the Titans rushing towards her.

"Starfire," Cyborg called out, "is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Wonder Woman said, "she's just exhausted from the fight." Wonder Woman knew that she was just trying to comfort the boy, since she hadn't seen any one Starfire's age take such punishment in a fight before.

"We won, I can't believe it! I didn't think we'd be able to, but we did. They were all like, V-R-O-O-M, and then we were, W-H-O-O-S-H, and then Green Lantern came in and just B-Z-Z-Z-T, and then Starfire and Blackfire were like…"

"Enough!" Robin said as he brushed the stray hairs off of Starfire's face. He looked at her bruised, but relaxed face. "Why'd you do it," he said silently to Starfire, "Do you know what it's gonna be like for you now?"

"Please, Robin," Wonder Woman said, "She's merely exhausted, but she still needs immediate medical attention."

Robin took a few steps back and allowed Wonder Woman to take off over the battlefield. As she did, the Tamaranian and Centaurian armies looked up at the wounded Starfire and cheered for her as she was carried over their heads. Wonder Woman looked down at Starfire and said, "You may have earned my respect as a warrior, but I hope you're prepared for what you'll be facing within yourself now." Wonder Woman's troubled eyes for the young girl looked up and onward towards the medical infirmary miles across the field.

Robin sat outside the makeshift infirmary tent when Raven approached him.

"How's Starfire doing," Raven asked.

Robin looked up, but was silent for a moment before saying, "She has a lot of bruises, a few burns, some blood loss, many cuts that needed stitches and they say that her collar bone and ribs are broken, but she'll pull through."

"That's good," Raven said, but she saw that he was far from comforted. She sat next to Robin and put her hand on his shoulder. "But I can tell that something else is bothering you."

"She killed her sister, Rae," Robin said, "I had hoped that she wouldn't go down the same path I…"

"What path," Raven asked.

"When I was nine, my parents were killed by a mob boss trying to make an example of us. It wasn't until a year later that I got my revenge on the man who killed them. Even though I killed the guy, I couldn't help but see blood for blood as the only justice that existed and all because I killed someone. But my parents were still gone and it was then that I realized that when a life is taken abruptly, it only leaves behind anger and pain. Since then, I've spent my whole life avoiding seeking out death as a means for justice. One person that helped was Starfire. She was so happy and everything seemed so new around her. She brought joy to everything again and I finally felt happy after a long time. But when I saw Starfire do…that…killed Blackfire …" Robin began to break down.

"You were afraid that she was going to go through the same torture you went through," Raven said, understanding full well. Robin merely nodded his head. "I don't want her to go through that. Now, I'm afraid that it might be too late."

Before Raven could say anything, R'yannd'r walked to the infirmary entrance. "How's she doing," he asked Robin and Raven. Robin looked up and said, "She's still under, but she'll pull through."

"Then perhaps you both could help me," R'yannd'r asked, "The Centaurian council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the rebuilding plans and asked that Starfire or myself be there to represent Tamaran. Since she's still out, I'll go in her place and I was hoping that you both would come with me as representatives for Starfire's Earthly connections."

Raven looked to Robin for his response. Robin took a deep breath before standing up to meet R'yannd'r at eye level. "We'll be there," Robin said.

"Good, now," R'yannd'r said, "there's one thing I'll need you to bring with you."

"And the council grants the boundary defense the twenty five million gordnacks necessary for repairs to their headquarters and training facilities. Now for the final motion of the Centauri council, article seventy-eight dash NZ twenty-four, Decision of Actions Taken Towards the Tamaranian Refugees. Is the Tamaranian representative present?"

R'yannd'r stands up with Raven and Robin next to him. "Prince R'yannd'r of the Tamaranian royal family."

One council member lowered his glasses and asked, "Where is Princess Koriand'r?"

"I regret to inform you," R'yannd'r said heavily, "that she is still recovering from her wounds from battle."

"Our thoughts are with her," another council member said, "and these others by your side, they are?"

"Your excellencies," R'yannd'r said, "May I introduce Raven and Robin, two teenagers who aided our army during these battles. Koriand'r serves with them on Earth as a sort of Special Police Ops Force. I asked them to be here to offer their representation for Starfire's earthbound pursuits."

"Then they are also welcome," a council member said from the far right of the table, "Now, as for the matter at hand, we are here to discuss Tamaran's involvement in the battle that took place yesterday that claimed the lives of numerous Centauri soldiers, as well as our own military advisor, Val Yor. If Prince R'yannd'r would be so kind as to present his argument."

R'yannd'r stood up, cleared his throat and said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the Centarui council, what happened on your planet was an unfortunate and regrettable situation that did arise from a civil dispute on Tamaran. As we mentioned in our previous meeting in this very chamber, we had reason to believe that the insurgents that survived from our planet were planning an attack on Centauri."

"We do remember that," one council member said, taking his glasses off to wipe them clean, "We also remember Val Yor's claim that no such threat existed. How do you account for his findings?"

"His surveillance must have been taken after the Uprising army was alerted to our presence," R'yannd'r calmly explained.

"Do you have any existing evidence of the threat of an ion destabalizer being used on our planet," one council member asked, curiously. R'yannd'r merely turned to Robin, who stood up and dropped a smoldering piece of metal on the table.

"This is what remains of the central core of the ion destabalizer," Robin explained, "The battle on the Preetanchey Fields was merely a diversion so that Blackfire could activate this device on an adjourning side of the city while it was distracted by the battle at their front gates. Val Yor was with us as we fought these soldiers."

The council members all looked at the device with a sense of realization that their planet actually just faced annihilation.

"If what you say is true," one council member said, "then this entire planet owes you their gratitude."

"Your excellencies," R'yannd'r continued, "as a sign of your gratitude, I ask that you consider the proposition that I placed before you to offer sanctuary for the surviving citizens of Tamaran, who are still searching for places to stay."

"It is a very lofty request that you have made, Prince R'yannd'r," the head council member said, "and one that would have to be taken under serious advisement. The only concern is why Centauri should be the planet to assist Tamaran when we have so much rebuilding of our own to reconsider." The council stood up and began to walk in back.

R'yannd'r stood up, followed by Robin and the both began to walk out of the room. The mood was anxious as Raven sensed the thoughts of the council members and the result would not be promising. Though R'yannd'r was no telepath either, Raven sensed that he was thinking the same thing Raven was. Raven could no longer stand by and stood up to face the council. "If the council will allow," Raven said, causing everything in the room to come to a halt, "I have something that I would like to say." The council was silent as they motioned for Raven to speak. "When I was first asked by Starfire to aid her in helping her planet, I had the same opinion as yourselves: Why should I concern myself with the problems of others that do not relate to me? And if any of you knew me very well, you would know that empathy is not my strongest personality trait. But something changed in me during this war, I began to realize that no matter who is suffering and who asks for our help, it will always relate to us in some way, even if it is simply in showing our true personalities. I saw my own personalities come out on the battlefield, something I've never seen before. It was then that I understood that the needs of others is everyone's problem because we are all here to help each other to live their lives, not work to restrict them because then we're no better than Blackfire, looking out only for ourselves and destroying other people's dreams in the process. Our actions towards each other's needs determine who we are on the inside. I know that you are all good people and I hope that you will make the right decision that will reflect well on us all. Thank you for letting me say this." With that, Raven turned around and joined R'yannd'r and Robin's side walking out of the room. Raven managed a weak smile as she sensed the mood of the room lighten.

"A toast," R'yannd'r yelled, raising his mug high in the air, "to the first planetary thanksgiving Tamaran will celebrate on Centauri and most certainly will not be the last." All other soldiers and Tamaranian refugees raised their mugs as well, clinking them together in front of the table. And with that, the great feast began in the Centauri soldier's banquet hall to celebrate Tamaran's acceptance into Centauri's population. Centaurians were caught a little off guard at the Tamaranians' manner of rejoicing, such as their need to dance on the tables, pour their drinks over each other and even devour their food in furious gulps. Eventually, the tension broke and the Centaurians began to partake in the Tamaranians' manner of partying. R'yannd'r sat back and watched the whole situation play out in front of him with a sly smile on his face.

"Is there any reason besides the obvious that there is such a smile on your face, R'yannd'r," said Br'yannd'r. R'yannd'r leaned over and said, "How long has it been since the Centaurians regarded our culture as being a primitive one, calling us Troqs and so forth. Yet here we are, the socially reformed side by side with the socially primitive enjoying a party as if we were long separated brothers."

Br'yannd'r looked at the party as well and the same smile also brandished his face, "Yes, I see what you mean."

"Despite the hell we've been through in this war, I never would have imagined it would have ended so well."

R'yannd'r turned to look at the Teen Titans, who were having their own kind of party as The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern all were raising their glasses to the Titans.

"You kids," Green Lantern said, "have definitely come a long way since Raven first started your team. We weren't sure what kind of heroes you were all going to grow up and become, but you have all proved to us that when you grow older, you would be more than welcome in the Justice League."

Beast Boy's jaw hit the table, "No way, are you serious?"

Wonder Woman smiled, "Well, we can't say officially, but if you're ever interested six or seven years down the road, you're all more than welcome."

The Teen Titans were speechless.

"I don't know what to say," Cyborg said, to which, The Flash replied, "Normally, you raise your glasses and salute."

The Titans all raised their glasses and toasted each other.

"So, like, how much older would we be talking about here," Beast Boy asked.

"Probably when you're old enough to fill those glasses with more than just milk," Green Lantern said jokingly. Wonder Woman looked over at Robin, who was sitting and looking pretty melancholy. "Something troubles you, Boy Wonder?"

"It's been a while since anyone's called me that," Robin said.

"Batman told me you used to go by that name," Wonder Woman said, "So what is on your mind?"

"I'm worried about Starfire," Robin said, "I mean, she should be here celebrating with all of us, since she helped all of this come to be. But I'm also worried about her as well."

"Her fight with her sister left you wondering about her state of mind as well."

"How'd you know?"

"It's something every warrior deals with when they take a life with their own hands. You and I have both experienced it."

"How much has Batman told you about me," Robin asked, getting a little frustrated.

"Only the parts that make him proud of you," Wonder Woman said. Robin heard this and he began to smile. Wonder Woman smiled at Robin, then looked up and said, "I think someone's here you might want to talk with." Robin turned around to see Starfire limping into the banquet hall to a rousing ovation. Despite the bruises all over her face and the sling over her right arm, she still looked radiant. Starfire looked around, overwhelmed by what she'd accomplished.

"I was just informed that our people have been invited to live here on Centauri… and I could not be more overwhelmed. You have earned this day, everybody!"

"Thank you, Starfire," a voice from the back chanted and a chant of "Starfire! Starfire!" began. Starfire humbly silenced everyone. "People of Tamaran, do not thank me, thank yourselves. Thank yourselves for the sacrifices you have all made. I can't… I can't begin thank you all for your loyalty to me and for your courage and your selflessness. You are all celebrating today because of these things. We have lost so much, our homes, our planet, our friends and our families. You all so fought hard for these things so this night is yours. Enjoy, be happy and prepare yourselves for a new life in your new home." The hall erupted into ovation. Robin watched Starfire as she used the pandemonium as a cover to exit right out of the door. Robin stood up and followed her outside.

Starfire walked across the war torn battlefield, looking at the craters and the scarred walls. Starfire then looked up at the M-shaped constellation in the sky, but had a hard time seeing it again. The lavender star that made up the crown constellation had completely disappeared. Starfire took a moment to herself, then leaned up against a nearby wall, buried her face in her hand and began to cry uncontrollably. She wept for minutes before Robin rounded the corner.

"Starfire, what is it," Robin asked sympathetically, holding her in his arms. Starfire tried to compose herself, but her continuous crying left her melted in Robin's arms.

"I can't do it," Starfire sobbed, "I can't hold it back any more."

"Hold what back," Robin asked.

"I tried to be strong for everyone, I put my feelings aside about everything. Tamaran, my parents, Galfor, the fight with my sister, I didn't think about any of that because I knew that my people needed me. But now that everything is okay for them and I can look back…Robin, it hurts. It hurts so badly. Coming home and seeing everything that was once so good being destroyed, I even saw my parents burned alive in front of my face when Tamaran exploded, but I couldn't cry because people called me asking for help. Now, I just can't hold it back anymore."

"Let it out, Starfire, I'm here for you." Robin knew that she just needed to get everything off of her chest and it would be okay. "I hope everything will be okay," Robin thought.

"I have fought with my sister before, but she has never pushed me like that. She wanted either one of us to die. I think when she knew that her army was defeated, she would just kill either herself or me in one final fight. She tried to make me like her, bring out my dark side on the field. I wasn't just fighting her out there I was fighting for myself. I do not want to have to go through that again."

"But you survived, Star," Robin said, "and you're still yourself. No one can take that away from you unless you let it."

"Then my parents. I find out my parents are alive, then see them for one day, not even a day, then they are taken away from me so quickly and I can not get them back. How is that fair?"

"It isn't," Robin said, "but I know exactly what you're going through."

"And now I will never see Tamaran again. I can not visit my home where I was born, I can not see Galfor, I won't be able to walk through the garden I kept at the palace. I can't see the sun rise over the Hills of Norian anymore. I do not have a home anymore."

"You still have a home, Starfire," Robin said, brushing her hair with his fingers, "You have a home with us on earth."

Starfire broke down crying even more. "I killed my own sister, Robin. How am I going to live with that?"

Robin looked into Starfire's tear-filled eyes intensely and said, "You just remind yourself of the good in the world and hold onto it everyday." Starfire replied with a sniffle, "What good things do I have to hold onto?" Robin doesn't answer for a moment because he wants to say the next thing just right. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him and how her jovulent attitude kept him from forever falling into the darkness. Instead, he just planted a kiss on her lips. Starfire's eyes widened at this gesture, but then closed as she lost herself in the kiss that she had been waiting for since she arrived on Earth and met Robin. All the anger that she had built up inside of her, she pushed away so that she would be able to enjoy this moment, which she had been waiting for. Starfire's eyes refilled with tears, but this time, they were tears of hopefulness and joy.

The End

…of Part I

Stay tuned for Part II: The Heart of a Hero

Please, please, please, I would really like some feedback before I post the second part. It's taken me so long to write this and I'm just trying to see how big of an audience I have out there and what everyone thinks about what I've written so far. There is more, but I'd like to know if there's anything I need to work on (other than the spacing of the paragraphs, which looks good in Microsoft Word, but terrible in the transfer). And to everyone out there who's been a loyal reviewer and reader (Mikha, can't thank you enough. It's great to know that I have one loyal fan out there).


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